


Masquerade

by twiceasbriight



Series: Masquerade [1]
Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, deukae as badass vampires, gahyeon is a princess, gay fluff, it'll be a slowburn to the action but it'll be worth it, ships are actually gonna be pretty prevalent, vampire the masqurade royal assassination au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2020-09-27 07:08:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 46,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20403697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twiceasbriight/pseuds/twiceasbriight
Summary: When Princess Gahyeon wakes up, being beaten within an inch of her life by her father, the king, is the last thing she expects. She isn't expecting to be saved by a beautiful girl and a wolf and turned into a vampire either.





	1. Prequel

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, welcome to my first fic! This concept was born over the course of several very late nights with the help of a special few cuties on stan twt (y'all know who you are <3). I'll do my best to post regular updates; I'm not sure how long this is gonna be but I can't wait to find out! Enjoy!

Maybe it’s the moon, maybe it’s because the sounds of shouting and laughter from the palace are drifting in the wind towards the forest outside Dreamcatcher, her clan’s bar, or maybe it’s just because she’s been cooped up too long and had to put up with too many human men drunkenly attempting to flirt with her, but Kim Bora is feeling particularly rebellious today. So rebellious, in fact, that she’s gone to explore the forest bordering the palace – which, gods forbid she ever approach – and she’s enlisted the company of her girlfriend, Siyeon, to explore with her.

Their small clan is meant to have little contact with the humans in their city, as little as possible, but by all the gods, it’s been _so_ long since they’ve been able to go out and just run and explore. Damn the Masquerade, the six vampires are all bursting at the seams to have a taste of freedom, and Bora can’t take it any longer.

Which is why she’s currently running through the forest, with Siyeon in wolf form by her side. The colours are incredibly vivid and intense; the lush green of the leaves, the deep brown of the soil underfoot, the golden glow of the sun filtering through the trees, even the pale brown of dead branches littering the ground pull a grin to her lips as she runs. Bora’s long black hair trails behind her, and she wishes she’d thought of braiding it back before she went sprinting at a supernatural speed through the forest.

_ Oh well_, she thinks. The slight pain that jolts through her scalp as strands of her hair catch on tree branches doesn’t faze her in the slightest; she’s too busy reveling in the sensation of freedom expanding in her chest. Bora whoops loudly, grinning, and Siyeon echoes her shout with a howl, a wolfy smile tugging at her lips.

As they approach the palace wall and circle around towards the rear courtyard, the sound of a girl screaming pierces the air. It isn’t the playful shouting Bora had caught on the edges of the wind from earlier, it’s high-pitched and saturated with pain and terror. With the horrors both vampires have seen and experienced, it’s a scream that Bora and Siyeon are intimately familiar with. They screech to a halt at the same time, kicking up a spray of soil and rocks.

Bora opens her mouth to suggest they investigate, before another scream, filled with panic, reaches her ears. Bora’s chest tightens. She’s starting to feel the girl’s fear prickle at the back of her neck and creep into her lungs. Whoever she is, she isn’t far.

She turns to Siyeon, “We have to help her.”

Siyeon cocks her head to the side for a moment. Bora opens her mouth, ready to argue that Masquerade can go fuck itself, but her girlfriend is already shifting; the enormous wolf fluidly morphs into Lee Siyeon like the sweep of a paintbrush on canvas. She shakes out her hair for a moment and cracks her neck to the side, anger tightening her eyes.

“Let’s go.”

They take off running again, this time filled with urgency. The girls of their clan, Dreamcatcher, do their utmost to protect women from evil, preying men, because gods knew each of them had been through hell and back because of at least one such man, and they refuse to sit back and let it happen to anyone else. Masquerade be damned.

Bora and Siyeon approach the courtyard, carefully using the trees to hide themselves from the guards stationed outside the entrance. Bora looks around quickly and begins to climb one of the trees as fast as she can. It only takes her a few seconds to clear the height of the courtyard wall, and she pauses once she can get a clear view, wood digging into her hands.

The pain is replaced by burning fury when she catches a glimpse of the girl. She’s alone, and sprawled on her back, black hair splayed out beneath her head, and sobbing brokenly as blood seeps from a wound in her side into her dress and begins to puddle on the ground. Her ribcage looks slightly concave and Bora swallows a wave of nausea when she realizes at least two of the girl's ribs are broken. Bruises are beginning to bloom on the girl’s cheekbones and bare arms.

Anger scorches Bora’s veins and she can feel the moment her irises begin to burn a deep scarlet red. She’s going to kill them, whoever the fuck they are. As she readies herself to leap from the tree into the courtyard, a cool hand touches hers. She looks over to see Siyeon in the tree next to her, reaching out to hold her hand. Even though her eyes are also glowing red, Siyeon links their fingers together and squeezes gently.

“Bora,” She warns, “We can’t give ourselves away in the open like this.”

But Bora is vibrating from the sheer intensity of her rage; she can’t hold herself back, and she won’t. She squeezes Siyeon’s fingers back and she can feel how hard Siyeon is trembling from holding herself back too.

“We’ll get her out of there, I promise, but –"

Siyeon’s voice trails off in shock as the girl, still shaking from the force of her sobs, begins to crawl to her feet. Blood continues to drip from the wound in her side and she can only use one hand to support herself, but she does it. She hunches over against the pain, cradling her wounded arm to her chest. Her dress is covered in mud, grass stains, and soaked with blood. The scent of it permeates the air, but both Bora and Siyeon are too overwhelmed with fury to find it even the slightest bit appetizing.

They watch as the girl looks back to the back entrance of the palace and then towards the guards by the entrance, and then something changes in her. The girl straightens her back and lifts her chin, and Bora gasps when she sees the hardness that has replaced the agony in her eyes. The girl gathers her dress, narrows her eyes, clenches her jaw, and breaks into a sprint towards the gate.

Because they’re facing outwards, the guards don’t see the girl until she’s already run past them and into the forest. Once they realize what’s happened, they chase after her, shouting, “Princess Gahyeon! Stop!”

Bora’s jaw drops in shock. _Who would_ _dare_ _attack the princess?_ The guards hadn’t protested the attack, or moved to help the princess, indicating they were working with the attacker. Gods be damned, they aren’t going after Gahyeon to help her, they’re going to_ drag her back_. Bora meets Siyeon’s eyes, deadly serious.

“We have to go after her.” Siyeon doesn’t waste time to agree out loud, she’s already leaping down from her tree. By the time Bora joins her on the ground, Siyeon’s already shifted to her wolf form again. As they take off into a sprint, Bora shouts, “Go ahead, I’ll catch up!”

Siyeon speeds up, legs blurring as she disappears into the forest. Her wolf form is much faster than Bora, so she’s their best bet at catching up to the girl – Princess Gahyeon – and getting her to safety before the guards can reach her. Bora isn’t worried about finding either of them; the smell of the princess’s blood isn’t hard to follow, and well, Bora can find Siyeon anywhere.


	2. Chase Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! I'm sorry the chapters have been short so far, but don't worry - they're gonna get longer soon! Enjoy!

Lee Gahyeon, princess of the Starsight region, tears through the forest outside the palace she’s lived in since she was born, gasping for breath that just won’t come, and overwhelmed by more agony than she’s ever felt in her life. She clumsily slaps aside branches and shoves herself off the trees in her way, stumbling over roots and stones. Her breath is coming faster and faster and white spots dot her vision, but fear and adrenaline and desperation are flooding her veins and she _has_ to keep going, so she does.

With every wobbly stride, she gets further and further from the palace and her hateful family, and every wave of pain is just slightly tamed by the relief of freedom trickling from the back of her brain. Gahyeon runs and runs until she can barely lift her legs; she has no idea where she’s going and she’s practically blinded by pain, but it doesn’t matter. She has to get away.

The snapping of branches and a faint, deep growl to her left send panic shooting through her once more. Behind her, the shouts of the palace guards are beginning to reach her ears. She desperately tries to pick up speed, but her vision tunnels and the ground rises up to meet her. She tumbles to the soil and rocks beneath her, and just barely catches herself on her hands. The pain tears through her, and her mouth opens in a soundless scream. Her wounded side seizes and she can’t _breathe_ and dear gods, _this is how she’s going to die._

“There she is!” One of the guards has spotted her, and their shouts grow louder as he leads the others in her direction.

_Get up!_ Gahyeon struggles to her knees, but she’s overcome by dizziness and the burning in her side that continues to intensify. She can barely lift her head, and through blurry eyes sees the uniforms of the guards approach her. The guards begin to circle her, faces drawn and grim. Fear pulses through Gahyeon, but she tries to meet their gazes as they draw their swords.

Faintly, she wonders why they haven’t drawn the guns strapped to their backs, but gives up on that train of thought – who cares? She’s going to die either way.

The captain has barely taken a step towards Gahyeon, sword raised, before the growl Gahyeon had heard before erupts into a snarl and an enormous wolf bursts from the trees behind her. The wolf crashes into the captain, knocking him to the ground, and he can’t even scream before his head smashes against a strewn rock. Blood and brains spray onto the soil and the wolf makes a short, staccato set of growls that sound almost like – laughter?

The wolf has time to leap from the captain’s corpse, barrel into three of the guards and start tearing into them with its claws and fangs before the rest of the guards overcome their shock. Eyes wide in horror, they charge the wolf, but before they can reach it, a black-haired figure blurs into view and zips around the guards faster than Gahyeon’s eyes can follow. _What on earth is going on?_

The wolf’s three guards crumple to the ground, blood bubbling from deep tears in their flesh at the same time as the black-haired figure slows to a stop. As they do, the entire remaining squadron of guards drops to the ground, like marionettes cut from their strings. Now that the figure isn’t moving like quicksilver, Gahyeon blinks back the blurriness in her eyes as best as she can and takes another look, and gods above, _it’s a girl_.

Gahyeon rocks back on her knees unsteadily, still hyperventilating. _What the_ _fuck?_ The girl approaches Gahyeon slowly, hands out in a calming gesture. As she does, her features sharpen past the fuzziness in Gahyeon’s eyes and her jaw drops, because the girl is the most beautiful person she’s ever seen in her life. The vividness of the deep black of her hair, her smooth, pale skin, her gorgeous dark brown eyes, and the curve of her Cupid’s bow lips takes Gahyeon’s breath away. Even in Gahyeon’s half-conscious state, this girl’s presence is so intense, she can _feel_ her, even from over ten feet away.

“Hey,” A voice breaks dimly through the fog in Gahyeon’s mind. “Can you hear me?”

Even the sound of her voice is breathtaking. Gahyeon tries to focus on the movement of the girl’s lips, but there’s something decidedly odd about them. She blinks, tries again and almost scoots back in shock as she realizes the girl’s lips are smeared with blood.

“Can you hear me?” As the black-haired girl repeats herself, a tiny bead of blood clinging to the corner of her lower lip trickles down her chin. In her hazy state, Gahyeon can only watch, mesmerized, as the droplet tracks down over her (admittedly sharp) jawline. The girl, following Gahyeon’s eyes, quickly wipes her mouth on the back of her hand, and then repeats herself a second time.

Gahyeon tilts her head and opens her mouth to answer, but she can’t even catch her breath. Her tongue is suddenly much too big for her mouth, the forest is starting to spin, her head is _so_ heavy, and gods, _where are all those black dots coming from?_

The girl’s eyes widen in concern and she lunges forward to catch Gahyeon as she’s overcome by dizziness and collapses backwards. The giant wolf pads up to them quietly and butts its head into the girl’s side before blurring and shrinking into the form of another girl, and Gahyeon thinks she must be hallucinating because none of this can possibly real.

The king must’ve hit her too hard on the head with the steel star on his cane, she thinks as her vision grays and tunnels further. That has to be it. Wolves this size don’t exist in this region, let alone work with black-haired goddesses to defend half-conscious princesses.

The two girls lean over her, blocking out the waning light of the sun, and the darkness expands until it fills her vision. She finally surrenders to the dizziness pulling her downward, and then Lee Gahyeon, princess of the Starsight region, isn’t thinking about much of anything anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feel free to hmu on twitter @twiceasbriight to scream about gaycatcher and count down towards their japanese album release! The next chapter will probably be up within the next few days, so please look forward to it!


	3. I will give you moonlight in this night sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm sorry for the delay in uploading, things got crazy and busy because of uni starting. I'm gonna try to do weekly updates with this fic, but I may end up being late sometimes bc of homework and tests. As you can see, I've updated the chapter count; the fic is fully outlined and planned out, and I can't wait to keep writing it!
> 
> Yoohyeon and Bora are both referred to at one point in this chapter as 'jacks.' Jack is short for jack of all trades, and they have access to a small handful of classic vampire abilities. Each jack has their own specific power or powers in the pool of abilities that they have a certain amount of skill in, and it's different for each jack. This will come a little more into play in the later chapters!
> 
> Enjoy!

As intense and bloody as her PUBG match is becoming, Yoohyeon is getting increasingly distracted. The TV’s volume is just low enough to be a faint buzz in the background, and the warmth from her sweater and Minji’s body heat seeping into her combined is making her drowsy.

Yoohyeon takes a few shots at the enemy, furiously tapping at her phone’s screen. She groans with frustration when she misses. “Fuck,” she mutters under her breath.

She’s positioned with her back leaning the arm of the couch, Minji lying between her thighs and facing the TV, and she’s so close she can hear Minji’s breath catch slightly. As Yoohyeon moves her character through abandoned buildings, weapons at the ready, Minji shifts so she’s a little higher up and starts gently playing with Yoohyeon’s silver hair.

The enemy approaches, but Yoohyeon is getting sleepier and sleepier, and Minji’s gentle ministrations are only relaxing her further. Yoohyeon flinches as her character takes two bullets from the enemy and throws the avatar behind cover as fast as she can.

She focuses, ducks out of cover, and manages to get off a couple well-aimed shots that defeat her attacker. “Fuck yeah,” Yoohyeon grins and advances through the map.

As she does, she feels the little baby hairs at the nape of her neck being tugged at gently, and lips pressing gentle kisses up her jaw and the side of her face. Warmth erupts through Yoohyeon’s body and she bites back a whimper as Minji’s lips reach her ear and nibble at the sensitive skin just behind her earlobe.

_Christ_, Minji is going to destroy her. She takes a deep breath and tries to stay focused. Her game is almost over, but then Minji shifts against her again and starts kissing down her neck. Yoohyeon instinctively tilts her head to give Minji access to more skin and she can feel her girlfriend smile against her. Minji sucks softly at Yoohyeon’s pulse-point and Yoohyeon is absolutely gone.

The phone drops from her suddenly weak fingers, landing face-up, and she can only watch as her character is mercilessly eliminated by one of the remaining enemies. Minji chuckles quietly against Yoohyeon’s neck and _shit_, maybe she’s going to die in real life too.

Yoohyeon twists to face Minji, pouting. “You made me lose!”

Minji laughs and Yoohyeon literally stops breathing for a moment because no matter how many times she’s seen Minji laugh, it always hits her like it did the first time she heard it. Minji wraps her arms around Yoohyeon’s narrow waist and leans in so their foreheads are almost touching.

“It’s not my fault you’re so easily distracted.”

Yoohyeon has to hold back a smile of her own to keep the pout steady because Minji is smiling so widely, eyes filled with unfiltered affection, but then she’s closing the gap between them and softly kissing the pout from Yoohyeon’s lips. 

Yoohyeon sighs and smiles against Minji’s lips and kisses her back, humming contentedly. After a moment, Yoohyeon breaks the kiss, the mix of their lip gloss causing their lips to cling to each other for a brief moment before they separate.

Minji tastes like strawberry lip gloss and the chocolate she’d been munching on earlier, and Yoohyeon’s smiles crookedly, lips pulling to the right and bunny teeth flashing.

“It definitely is.” Her voice is a little breathless and her eyes search Minji’s before she continues. “But gods, I can’t help it. You’re everything.”

Yoohyeon’s heart swells as the teasing glint in Minji’s eyes softens with adoration, and she leans in to kiss her again. Minji whimpers as Yoohyeon weaves her fingers through Minji’s soft, ruby coloured hair and slowly tips them over so she’s on top.

Yoohyeon’s breath stutters in her throat as she feels Minji’s fingers slide under the soft cotton of her hoodie and start gently exploring the toned skin of her waist and abdomen. The movement of Minji’s dexterous fingers stokes the want burning through Yoohyeon’s veins and she deepens the kiss, inhaling sharply as Minji’s teeth sink into her lower lip and _tug_, and she swears she’s ready to tear Minji’s clothes off right there on the couch, roommate rules be damned, when the door to their apartment bursts open with an enormous bang.

Startled, Yoohyeon and Minji break the kiss at the same time, and jolt upright.

_Shit._

“Minji!” Bora shouts frantically.

Eyes wide, Minji scrambles to her feet, breathing hard. She cups Yoohyeon’s face with her hands, looking down at her with blown pupils. Minji’s cheeks are flushed, lips kiss-swollen and hands shaking, and despite the interruption, Yoohyeon can’t help but feel a glimmer of pride at being the one to reduce her girlfriend to such a state. “We’ll finish this later,” Minji promises, and although Yoohyeon is disappointed, she knows Minji means it.

Minji helps Yoohyeon up and presses a quick kiss to her mouth.

“Let’s see what’s going on.”

“You got it.”

Yoohyeon pulls her hoodie down from where it had ridden up at her waist and follows Minji towards the front door of their apartment. Yoohyeon nearly walks into Minji she stops abruptly right in front of her and Bora and Siyeon rush past them, carrying the limp, unconscious body of a girl.

Bora and Siyeon carefully place the girl on the couch that Yoohyeon and Minji had been occupying.

Minji frowns. “Bora? What -”

“I’m sorry!” Bora blurts out. “This girl was attacked and being chased and they were gonna kill her so we stopped them and saved her, and I’m sorry we didn’t talk to you about it first, but we had to turn her on the way back so she wouldn’t die.”

Bora’s visibly out of breath and pale, eyes still wide with urgency.

“We found her in the palace,” Siyeon explains, rubbing Bora’s back as she catches her breath. “The guards started hunting her down and they were gonna kill her – “

“She’s the princess!” Bora shouts. Her eyebrows shoot up as she realizes that she’s interrupted her girlfriend. “Sorry, baby.”

Yoohyeon’s jaw drops and she exchanges a shock-filled glance with Minji.

“Wait, _what?_”

“Okay,” Minji takes a deep breath. “Let’s move her to one of the bedrooms for now, and then we’ll sit down, you guys can catch your breath, and then we’ll go over this again, _slowly.”_

Bora’s still breathing hard, hands on her knees, but she gives Minji a weak thumbs up.

“We can keep her in our room for now,” Siyeon says, brushing her windswept hair from her eyes. 

Although she’s still reeling from the fact that the unconscious girl on their couch is the princess, Yoohyeon volunteers to help Bora carry her into Siyeon and Bora’s room. As a fellow jack, she knows Bora will appreciate her super-strength; dead weight is never easy to carry, or to maneuver for that matter.

It isn’t until she’s opposite Bora and hoisting Gahyeon into the air that she understands why Bora is so pale and uncharacteristically out of breath.

The insides of Bora’s forearms are raked with raw teeth marks; she’d torn open her arm in order to get enough blood into Gahyeon to turn her in time. 

Bora follows Yoohyeon’s gaze and gives her a sheepish grin. “I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get enough into her fast enough if I went by it the normal way, so I kinda went a little overboard.”

Yoohyeon chuckles. “Of course, you did.”

Bora sways a little. “I’m definitely paying for it now, though.”

Yoohyeon’s eyes widen in concern. “Shit, let’s get her into your room quickly, and then I’ll grab you some food.”

Bora gives Yoohyeon a grateful smile, eyes crinkling.

“That sounds awesome, thank you.”

Yoohyeon waves it off. “No problem,” she replies.

Between the two of them, Gahyeon is as light as a feather, and the two vampires carry her easily through the apartment. Bora uses her foot to kick open the door to the bedroom, and they gently place Gahyeon on the bed. Bora props Gahyeon’s head on the pillow and brushes the hair off her face.

“Do you think we should change her clothes so she doesn’t wake up in a blood-soaked dress?” Bora asks.

Yoohyeon places her hands on her hips and shakes her head. “We could, but she’d wake up and know that someone touched her while she was unconscious. She’d be even more scared and wary of us. We can give her some clothes when she comes to, and then she can take a shower and change.”

Bora nods. “Good idea, makes sense.”

“Let’s get back and get some food, I’m so hungry.” Bora makes a goofy face at Yoohyeon and heads out the door. Yoohyeon follows, closing the door behind her.

They return to see the Yoobin, Handong, and Siyeon sitting on the couch, talking quietly.

Both Yoobin and Handong look like they’ve just woken up from a nap; Yoobin’s glasses are perched crookedly on her nose, like she’d been too tired to put them on straight, and Handong’s light brown hair is sticking up a little. They’re still sleepy, snuggling against each other on the couch.

Handong waves lazily at Yoohyeon and Bora as they sit down, and Yoobin shoots them a little smile.

Minji comes out from the kitchen a moment later, arms filled with plates covered in snacks stacked on top of each other. She carefully makes her way to the coffee table in front of the couch and starts placing everything down. Yoohyeon quickly goes to help her, unloading the plates from her arms and spreads them on out the table.

“Thanks, baby.” Minji brushes Yoohyeon’s cheek with her fingers gently and takes a seat on the couch next to Yoobin.

Bora drops exhaustedly onto the couch next to Siyeon, who presses a kiss to her cheek and starts making her a plate. The plates are loaded with chips, cookies, Pepero sticks, gummies and a giant mountain of leftover chicken feet that someone had ordered yesterday.

Yoohyeon picks up the paper plates and passes them out, and then heads quickly into the kitchen to take out two bottles of blood from the fridge. She tosses one to Bora, who blows her a kiss, and one to Siyeon, who flashes her a finger heart with her free hand.

Yoohyeon sits on Minji’s lap and hums happily when Minji wraps her arms around her. She fills up her plate with chips and cookies, enough for both of them to share. Yoohyeon knows Minji has to reach around her to get to the plate, so she places it on her lap to make it a little easier.

Once their plates are all loaded up on snacks, the six vampires dig in. As she munches on her chips, Yoohyeon stares, fascinated, as Bora devours a truly obscene amount of chicken feet. She notes that Bora’s colour is swiftly improving and that the slashes on her arms have already almost healed with relief.

As they make their way through the food, the tension in the room rises. Having a new vampire join them, especially the former princess, brings a shit ton of unknowns, and as the latest vampire to join Dreamcatcher, well, it’s something Yoohyeon hasn’t encountered before. She adapts quickly, but she can’t help but be a little afraid for what this is going to mean for them.

As if she can sense Yoohyeon’s stress level increasing – which, knowing her, she probably can – Bora looks over at her and offers her a reassuring smile, mouth covered in sauce. Yoohyeon snorts quietly at the sight, and just like that, the tension in her shoulders eases slightly.

Bora wipes her sauce-covered fingers and mouth on a napkin and leans forward, forearms on her thighs. “So, I guess we should explain to you guys what happened.”

Minji’s mouth is full – Yoohyeon can hear the crunch of the chips between her teeth, but she gestures for Bora to continue. She seems calm, like she’s already settled into mom-mode and she’s ready to help however she can.

Yoobin seems calm too, she’s leaning forward to better pay attention to Bora, but her body is relaxed, one hand playing with Handong’s and the other twirling a Pepero stick between her fingers.

Handong looks a little nervous, though; she’s the most afraid of change out of the six of them, and Yoohyeon understands. Handong’s lips are covered in crumbs and her posture softens as Yoobin reaches up and uses her Pepero to brush the crumbs off.

“I’m sorry,” Bora’s voice cracks suddenly and she ducks her head for a moment. Siyeon scoots closer to her and wraps her arm around her shoulders. She gently lifts Bora’s head and wipes at the tears beginning to overflow from Bora’s eyes with her thumbs. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you or think to ask Siyeon to call you, everything happened so fast, and she was beaten so badly and chased through the forest; they were going to kill her! We couldn’t let that happen.”

“Bora, look at me.” Minji’s voice is gentle and calm.

Bora glances up, eyes glistening.

“You did everything right,” Minji continues steadily. “You have nothing to apologize for. Just think of it being like when CLC sent Yoohyeon to us, remember?”

Almost instantly Yoohyeon’s fear and worries drain away, and she melts back into Minji, heart swelling, because she _does_ remember. She remembers arriving at Dreamcatcher soaking wet from rain and terrified out of her mind. She had been a total stranger to the five vampires, but they had taken her in with open arms, cleaned her up, and made her feel more loved and cared for than she ever had before. She’d do anything for them, and they for her, and now she has the opportunity to pay the girls’ kindness and love forward.

Yoohyeon twists to look back at Minji, and they exchange a soft smile.

“She’s someone new to make part of our family. I’m looking forward to meeting her.” Minji smiles at Bora. “Now, why don’t you tell us what happened? Who hurt her?”

Bora leans back against Siyeon, visibly relieved. She takes a deep breath to compose herself.

“We heard screaming while we were in the forest behind the palace, so we followed the screams to check it out. It was coming from the courtyard, so we climbed trees so we could see over the wall. She was lying on the ground, bloody and battered, sobbing in pain.” An edge creeps into Bora’s voice. “Someone beat her within an inch of her life. She had at least two broken ribs and had been hit repeatedly by something incredibly hard. We were ready to jump in and help her, but somehow, she got up. She got up, _and she ran into the forest_.”

Yoohyeon’s eyebrows shoot up. She _ran? How? _The others are wearing similar expressions of shock.

“The palace guards started chasing her and calling after her. That’s how we knew she’s the princess,” Siyeon continues, voice hard. “They hadn’t come to help her at all, so they knew what happened to her and didn’t care. They chased her into the forest and we followed. I was able to track her quickly in my wolf form, so Bora and I split up, and I caught up easily. When she fell, dizzy from blood loss, the guards found her. They were going to murder her right there, the princess that they’re supposed to _protect._” Siyeon almost spits the word out.

Jesus _Christ_.

“I jumped in and started taking care of them, and then Bora caught up to me. She stopped the other guards from attacking me, and we finished them off together.” She clenches her fists, knuckles white against her skin.

“Once the guards were dead, we approached her and as we did, she passed out,” Bora says, voice shaking in anger. “I caught her and checked her over. She was bleeding out, so I made a split-second decision to turn her. Siyeon helped me get enough blood into her in time.” She gestures at the claw marks on her forearms.

“Once I started the turn, we carried her back here as fast as we could,” Bora finishes, looking around at them.

Yoohyeon is stunned. Why on earth would someone abuse Gahyeon, leave her to die, and then have the palace guards try to kill her? Fury at the injustice burns through her, and she can see the others are just as affected.

Yoobin has accidentally crushed her Pepero stick in her fist, Handong’s eyes are burning red, Siyeon is shaking, lips pressed into a thin line, and Minji is tense and breathing shallowly behind Yoohyeon.

“You made the right decision,” The words leave Yoohyeon’s lips before she’s even registered that she’s speaking. “Gods, that poor girl.”

“Yoohyeon’s right. Can you imagine her going through all that agony, gathering up the courage and strength to escape, only to die from blood loss after her pursuers were dead? God, it would’ve been so beyond unjust.” Yoobin’s deep voice is thick with emotion.

Handong nods her agreement.

“It was horrifying,” Siyeon says, jaw clenched. “I’m so glad we saved her and got her out of there. She can have a place with us, and she’ll never have to know fear and pain like that again.”

Minji exhales hard. “I agree. No girl should have to go through something like that, _ever_. Gods know we see enough shit here, but this, this is beyond anything I could’ve expected. I know we all see eye-to-eye, but I want to make sure, are we all in agreement to keep her with us and have her be part of our family, should she decide to stay?”

“Yes.”

“Definitely.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“One hundred percent.”

“Of course.”

“Okay,” Minji takes a deep breath. “She’s going to need a change of clothes for when she wakes up.”

“We can give her some of our stuff,” Handong volunteers, looking at Yoobin.

“Thank you, Dongdong” Bora breathes shakily. “I’ll sit by the bed till she wakes up. Then we can get her cleaned up and changed.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Minji says. “Let’s get everything cleaned up here and then we can settle down to wait.”

Yoohyeon gets up from Minji’s lap, and starts clearing the plates and crumbs, and throwing them away. She’s joined by Yoobin and Minji, and together, they make quick work of the clean-up. They return to the family room to see Handong giving Bora a small stack of clothes.

“I’ll let you guys know when she wakes up,” Bora says.

“Sounds good!”

She smiles again, and links her fingers with Siyeon’s, and they head into their room.

“I think we should take the night off from the bar,” Minji says. “I’ll post on our SNS accounts that we’re closed for a family emergency. In the meantime, we can get some rest, once Gahyeon wakes up, things are going to get intense.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Yoobin shrugs. “Come get us when she’s awake.”

“Of course,” Minji says. “Sleep well, you two.”

“You too!”

And with that, Yoobin and Handong return to their room. Minji pulls out her phone and types for a minute before sliding it back in her pocket.

“Okay, we’re officially closed for the night. Let’s get some rest, yeah?”

“Yes, please,” Yoohyeon sighs softly. “Let’s go to bed.”

Yoohyeon follows Minji into their room. They quickly strip off their clothes, change into their pajamas, brush their teeth, and climb into bed. They snuggle up close, lying on their sides, face-to-face.

“That was insane,” Yoohyeon breathes.

“Gods, it really was,” Minji agrees. “Out of all the things I was expecting to happen when Bora and Siyeon came barging in, that didn’t even make the list.”

“Yeah.” Yoohyeon hums.

A thoughtful silence fills the air.

“I really am sorry we got interrupted earlier.” Minji whispers suddenly.

“Me too,” Yoohyeon giggles. “But it’s okay, we’ll pick up where we left off another time.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Minji teases. Her eyes dart down to Yoohyeon’s lips, and she leans in to give her a quick kiss.

“I look forward to it.”

“Me too. And whatever comes next, with Dreamcatcher and with Gahyeon, we’ll do it together. We’ll make this good for her and do our best to help her.”

“Of course, we will,” Yoohyeon says. “I love you.”

Minji smiles, eyes softening with affection. “I love you too.”

Yoohyeon closes the gap between them and wraps her arm around her girlfriend. She presses a kiss to the top of Minji’s head, closes her eyes, and falls asleep breathing in the comforting scent of Minji’s strawberry shampoo.


	4. Wake Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, welcome back! This week was a crazy whirlwind and I can't believe I finished the chapter on time. Most of this was written super late at night, so I apologize if there are any sleep-deprived errors that I didn't manage to catch when I went over it, but here's a 5k monster to make up for being late last week! Enjoy!!

Awareness returns to Gahyeon slowly. She can hear the sound of unfamiliar voices nearby, and her heart-rate kicks up. _Where am I? _Mentally, she takes quick stock of her body. She’s got all ten fingers and toes and she’s not in pain, but something feels a little off.

There’s a strange burn at the back of Gahyeon’s throat and she swallows, but it doesn’t go away. Her limbs are oddly light, like she’s floating in water. She decides she’s waited long enough and opens her eyes.

She’s in a bedroom she’s never seen before, and her breathing quickens as she realizes she doesn’t have any idea where she is. The room is painted light blue, and little knickknacks and books cover a tall bookshelf opposite the bed. The bed is almost too comfortable, like she could sink into the mattress and never find her way out. A polished wood desk is pushed up to the wall next to the bookshelf with two laptops surrounded by several stacks of papers on it. _Organized chaos_ is a suitable term for it, she thinks. 

She winces slightly as she scans the room. The light coming from the ceiling lamp above her isn’t that bright, but for some reason her eyes are unusually sensitive. She squints before looking to her right, sees a familiar black-haired girl asleep on a chair next to the bed, and suddenly her memories come rushing back.

Gahyeon remembers her father throwing her to the ground and beating her as she choked on the mix of betrayal and her own blood in her throat. The familiar sour taste of injustice and helplessness burns on the back of her tongue as she recalls the king’s eyes glowing with hatred, and his screams of fury as he attacked her. _It wasn’t me,_ Gahyeon reminds herself, suppressing a sob. _It was never my fault. I didn’t deserve it._

Gahyeon takes a slow breath to calm herself, shoving the anger down deep until she can barely feel the heat of it simmer in her chest, and the rest of her memories return to her in a flood.

She remembers the palace guards chasing her through the forest – the king had _commanded_ them to kill her? – the agony of desperately trying to escape them as blood poured from her wounds, and being saved by a giant wolf and the black-haired girl sitting sleeping next to her.

Wait, she thinks, eyes widening. What happened to the injuries? What happened to the kicked-in ribs, the bone-deep bruises from the endless blows of the steel star-shaped head of the king’s walking cane?

Gahyeon examines her arms and legs, touches her head where the cane had hit, and presses her right hand where she was certain her ribs had been broken. There’s no pain. There’s no fresh blood. There aren’t even any scars. _How is this possible?_

She’s still wearing the blood-soaked dress, so no one undressed her while she was unconscious. She grimaces slightly at the dried blood covering her dress and body, but she’s too relieved to care much about it. _Nobody touched me._

Gahyeon sits up cautiously, and examines the girl sleeping on the chair next to the bed. _Who_ is _she?_ She’s curled up on the chair, hair blanketing her face, but Gahyeon can just make out the pink of the Cupid’s bow lips that had caught her attention when she saved her. Carefully, she scooches closer to the edge of the bed to take a closer look.

As Gahyeon moves, the girl’s entire body flinches in the chair. Her eyes snap open and she inhales sharply, like she’d just surfaced from holding her breath underwater for too long.

Gahyeon throws herself back in shock, retreating against the headboard as far as she can. Panting, the girl leaps out of her chair and searches the room frantically. She relaxes slightly after a moment, inhaling deeply. Her breathing slows and she turns, catching sight of Gahyeon.

“Oh, my god,” she breathes, looking Gahyeon up and down.

Gahyeon is nearly struck dumb when she meets her eyes; the warm, honey brown of her irises is almost hypnotic.

“Uh, hi!” The girl is practically shouting and Gahyeon jumps a little; both in surprise at the volume and also because her ears are oddly sensitive for some reason.

She offers Gahyeon a nervous grin, lips pulling wide and upper teeth flashing.

“Please don’t be scared! You’re safe here.” She tucks her hair behind her ears and holds her hands out in the same calming gesture she had made in the forest. “My name is Kim Bora. My girlfriend, Siyeon, and I found you in the forest yesterday and brought you back here. I won’t get into all the details right away, especially since I’m sure you’re confused and overwhelmed, but please try not to be scared. You’re safe here; nobody is going to try to hurt you.” Bora talks quickly, but Gahyeon can sense the sincerity pouring off her.

Gahyeon blinks. She’s definitely confused and overwhelmed – _why does everything feel so weird?_ \- but she’s slightly mollified by Bora’s words.

“Your girlfriend is a wolf?” Gahyeon blurts out.

Her eyes widen in horror as she realizes what’s just come out of her mouth.

Bora freezes for a heart-stopping moment, and then she bursts out laughing. Gahyeon’s shoulders slump with relief.

Bora has a hearty staccato laugh; it’s a little squeaky and very contagious, and Gahyeon can’t help but chuckle with her, the right corner of her lips tilting up.

“She’s only a wolf sometimes,” Bora explains, still grinning. “We have a lot to explain to you, and it’s going to take a while. I’m sure you want to take a shower and change out of that dress before we get started.”

She hurries over to one of the closets pushed up against the wall and pulls out a small bundle of clothes. “We set these aside for you. I’ll show you the bathroom, it’s right here.” She gestures to a closed door next to the closet. “The door locks from the inside. You can take your time; we’ll get started whenever you’re ready.”

Bora holds out the bundle to Gahyeon. Hesitantly, Gahyeon gets off the bed and takes the clothes from her. The scent of citrus and lemon with a hint of clove catches her nose. It’s oddly comforting, and the tension inside her chest loosens slightly. Gahyeon resists the urge to bury her nose in the clothes and take a deep sniff. She clutches the bundle tightly to her chest.

“Um, thank you,” she says quietly.

Bora’s smile softens. “You’re welcome.”

She opens the bathroom door for Gahyeon. “Go on, I’ll wait here for you, okay? I’m just going to tell the others you’re awake.”

Gahyeon’s grip tightens on the clothes. _Others? _

“How many people are here?” She asks nervously.

“Seven, including you.” Bora rests her hand on Gahyeon’s arm for a moment. “Like I said, you’re safe here. Nobody here wants to hurt you, I promise.”

Gahyeon nearly flinches away from Bora’s touch, but warmth seeps into her from Bora’s fingers, and she relaxes. “Okay,” Gahyeon says.

Gahyeon takes several steps towards the bathroom, and then pauses. She turns back around to Bora. “Wait, where are we?”

“We’re in Starsight, in an apartment above a bar called Dreamcatcher,” Bora says reassuringly.

_Dreamcatcher_. The name tickles the back of Gahyeon’s brain; it’s definitely familiar.

“Okay,” she repeats. “I guess I’ll see you soon?”

Bora’s smile returns, and it’s almost fond. “Absolutely. I’ll be right here when you’re ready to come out.”

Gahyeon hesitantly smiles back. As she walks into the bathroom, she looks at Bora over her shoulder and says, “I’m Gahyeon, by the way.”

Bora’s eyes sparkle knowingly. “It’s nice to meet you, Gahyeon.”

She leaves the room, closing the door behind her, and now that she’s alone, Gahyeon exhales hard. She squeezes the clothes to her chest and gives in to the temptation to take a sniff. She tilts her head, nose brushing the soft cotton and inhales deeply. The smell of citrus, lemon and clove lights up the inside of her lungs and the tension tightening her chest loosens completely. Gahyeon sniffs again; she can’t explain why, but it smells _so _good.

Feeling much more relaxed, Gahyeon enters the bathroom. The lights flip on automatically with a soft hum, starting off dim and slowly brightening. Gahyeon is mildly is taken aback. It’s not a huge ensuite; the ones in the palace are much, much bigger, but it’s stylish and modern, like it’s been recently renovated. The sink is next to the door, and the toilet is right by the sink, lid closed. The shower is on the other side of the toilet, in a sealed glass chamber.

Gahyeon carefully places the clothes on the lid of the toilet and looks at herself in the tall mirror above the sink.

Surprise shoots through her when she sees virtually no blemishes on her face; no bruises, no cuts, not even any scars. The only remnant of yesterday’s events is the dried blood on her dress, and scattered on her arms, legs, temple, and jaw. _How is this possible?_

Gahyeon’s black hair is messy and tangled, but some conditioner from the shower will fix that. She takes a deep breath, mentally preparing herself and peels off her dress. She exhales with a huff, noting again that somehow, there aren’t any bruises or marks on her ribcage, or even on the soft plane of her stomach. Her legs and arms are unblemished.

_This is impossible. He almost killed me!_

Gahyeon shakes her head at herself. No point in panicking; not yet, anyway, she figures. _Bora said they have a lot to explain, so I guess I’ll see what they have to say._

Set on waiting to hear what explanation Bora and the others have for her, Gahyeon quickly takes off her bra and underwear and heads into the shower, closing the glass door behind her. She twists the knob to turn the water on, and warm water immediately starts pouring onto her from the flat, wide showerhead above. The water turns pinkish red as it flows off her body and down the drain at her feet.

Gahyeon nearly moans out loud when the water heats up further. She hadn’t realized how cold she was until now, and closing her eyes, she lets the hot water drum onto the top of her head and her back.

After several minutes of standing still, she rouses herself and opens her eyes, reaching to the shelf on her left for hair products. She lathers her hair in shampoo, rinses and shampoos a second time in an attempt to get every last reminder of the forest from her hair. She uses the conditioner twice as well, combing through her hair with her fingers until the knots are untangled and her hair is smooth and silky.

She saves the vanilla lavender bodywash for last, scrubbing her body clean and sighing with relief as the last of the blood, sweat, and grime swirls down the drain.

Gahyeon exhales with satisfaction, and turns off the shower regretfully, wishing she could stay and hide in the warmth forever. But she has to find out what happened to her.

She squeezes her hair out, letting the excess water splash down the drain, and pads out of the shower. There’s a fresh towel on the rack, and Gahyeon wraps herself in it gratefully, patting herself dry as she returns to the bundle of clothes waiting for her on top of the toilet.

A pair of ankle socks and soft pink sweater sit on top of the bundle, with a pair of black joggers underneath. Gahyeon drops the towel and puts on her bra and underwear with a slight grimace. At least they’re relatively clean, she thinks.

Gahyeon picks up the joggers first. The scent of earth and clove hits her brain and she can’t help but inhale greedily. _Wow_. She pulls on the joggers, smiling at how comfortable they are. They’re a little snug at her thighs and hips, but she doesn’t mind; she's worn tighter clothes in the palace.

Gahyeon pulls the sweater on over her head, and is overwhelmed a second time by the lemon and citrus smell. Both the earthy and citrusy fragrances warm her cheeks and settle in her belly. She sighs, satisfied and slightly comforted.

She tugs the socks on, drops her dress in the garbage bin next to the sink, and takes one more glance at herself in the mirror.

Gahyeon looks and feels like an entirely new person. Her pale skin is clean and clear, her hair is shiny and silky, and she’s wearing actual clean clothes that make her look like a normal person. Not a princess, just a person, like she’s always desperately wanted. Her shoulders feel light, like the weight that’s pulled her down since she was old enough to understand her family’s hatred for her has been cast off. _Not a princess, _she repeats to herself._ Just me._

Gahyeon sets her shoulders, resolute. She’s ready to hear whatever they tell her and throw her old life behind. She picks up the towel, unsure of what to do with it, opens the bathroom door, and heads back into Bora’s room.

As promised, Bora is there, sitting on the bed against the headboard, talking to a slightly familiar purple-haired girl next to her. The girl is teasing Bora, who’s laughing her squeaky laugh and playfully slapping her arm.

As Gahyeon approaches shyly, they both turn to face her.

“Hey!” Bora greets her enthusiastically with a wide grin. She looks Gahyeon up and down for a moment “You look like a completely different person.”

“I feel like one too, now that you mention it.” Gahyeon smiles back. “Um, what can I do with this? I wasn’t sure where to put it.” She gestures to the towel.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, it’s okay. I’ll put it away.” Bora hops out of the bed and takes the towel from Gahyeon.

“Thank you,” Gahyeon says, “and thank you for the clothes, they’re really comfy.”

Bora laughs again. “You’re welcome! Handong and Yoobin’s clothes look good on you.” Her eyes are open and kind.

Gahyeon blushes and ducks her head. She can’t even remember the last time someone had given her a genuine compliment.

Yoobin and Handong must be two of the others Bora mentioned before.

“Oh!” Bora is almost shouting again. Gahyeon looks up, surprised. “This is my girlfriend, Siyeon, the sometimes-wolf.” Bora winks, gesturing at the girl still sitting on the bed.

Gahyeon’s jaw loosens; Siyeon is _stunning_. Where Bora’s face is made of soft slopes and curves, and gentle eyes, Siyeon’s is all sharp lines and prominent cheekbones, and intimidating stare and Gahyeon can’t help but be apprehensive. _This girl could tear me in half._

“Hey,” Siyeon waves. She looks a little awkward, but she grins toothily in a heart-shaped smile. Her nose scrunches cutely, and Gahyeon’s nervousness retreats. “It’s nice to officially meet you.”

“It’s nice to officially meet you too,” Gahyeon says hesitantly. “How are you sometimes a wolf?”

Siyeon laughs and Bora snorts. “You’ll find out in a minute,” Siyeon says, “Come on, let’s go to the family room; everyone’s waiting for us.”

And just like that, Gahyeon’s nerves are back.

“Don’t worry,” Bora reassures. “They’re all really excited to meet you. And you’re perfectly safe, Siyeon and I are right here.”

Gahyeon takes a deep breath. “Okay.”

“Awesome! Let’s go.”

Gahyeon follows Siyeon out of the bedroom. Bora runs into another room across the hall, and returns moments later without the towel.

The two girls lead Gahyeon through a short hall with several doors on either side and into a large den. An enormous L-shaped couch takes up a sizable portion of the room. There’s a coffee table sitting in front of the couch, with a large flat-screen TV perched on a shelf several feet away. A few other doorways lead further into the apartment.

Four girls are lounging on the couch, talking and laughing. One is leaning against another girl, tapping furiously at her phone. One is reading a book, head resting in the fourth girl’s lap.

“Guys!”

The four girls look up at them, unaffected by the sheer volume of Bora’s voice.

Gahyeon is beginning to realize that shouting is Bora’s normal method of communication. The girls smile at Gahyeon and wave, and Bora hurries to introduce them.

“This is Kim Yoohyeon,” Bora gestures at the one who had been tapping at her phone.

Yoohyeon rolls her eyes, grinning good-naturedly. “Hey! I can introduce myself just fine, thank you.”

“Okay, okay, fine!” Bora waves her arms dramatically. “Have at it.”

Yoohyeon directs her smile at Gahyeon, and Gahyeon can’t help but smile back. Yoohyeon’s eyes crinkle and her bunny teeth flash. She’s wearing an oversized gray hoodie and black skinny jeans, and she’s both adorable and ridiculously pretty.

“I’m Kim Yoohyeon.” She tucks the strands of silver hair that have fallen out of her ponytail behind her ears, and gently nudges the girl reading the book’s leg.

She pulls herself up and sticks a random piece of paper from the coffee table into her book. She looks up at Gahyeon and waves.

“My name is Lee Yoobin,” she says, and Gahyeon nearly falls over because this girl, _wow. _“It’s nice to meet you.”

Yoobin’s voice is deep and husky, and the edges of her lips curve as she smiles at Gahyeon, exposing her round teeth. Her hair is styled in a pixie cut that looks like it’s just starting to grow out. It’s dyed brown with blonde highlights running through it, and Gahyeon’s knees go a little weak.

Yoobin looks Gahyeon up and down, and heat crawls up Gahyeon’s cheeks. Yoobin’s lips quirk further and her nose scrunches as she leans back, putting one of her feet up on the couch and resting her arm on her raised knee. “My joggers look good on you.”

Gahyeon’s eyebrows shoot up and she blushes furiously. “Thank you?” She squeaks.

The girl next to Yoobin pokes her cheek teasingly. “Don’t, you’re embarrassing her,” she chides, barely concealing a laugh. She turns to face Gahyeon.

“I’m Lee Handong,” she says, and Gahyeon’s knees become even unsteadier.

Handong’s voice is also deep and husky, and her pouty lips curl lazily into a smile. Her light brown hair just barely brushes her cream-coloured sweater. Handong eyes Gahyeon’s frame. “My shirt looks good on you, too.”

Handong winks, and warmth bursts in Gahyeon’s chest. This time her knees really do buckle a little, and her blush intensifies.

“Guys, stop teasing her!” The girl currently being leaned on by Yoohyeon rolls her eyes. “She looks like she’s about to pass out!”

The girl wiggles forward a bit so she isn’t being concealed by Yoohyeon’s long frame. Her long, ruby red hair is pulled into a side braid, and she’s wearing round black glasses high on her nose. She grins widely and waves. “I’m Kim Minji,” she says brightly. “It’s great to meet you! How’re you feeling?”

It takes a moment for Gahyeon to recover from her embarrassment. “I feel pretty good, considering what was done to me,” she says hesitantly. “But I also feel a little odd.”

Minji nods patiently. “That’s totally normal, don’t worry. Why don’t you take a seat? We have a lot to go over.”

Bora and Siyeon sit down next to Yoobin and Handong, and wave Gahyeon over to sit by them.

“Okay,” Gahyeon sits between Bora and Siyeon, and Bora touches Gahyeon’s arm reassuringly.

“All right,” Minji says, leaning forward. “I’m gonna go slowly, okay? Feel free to interrupt me with any questions, or tell me if you’re getting overwhelmed. This isn’t going to be easy to digest.”

Gahyeon nods, confused. _What is she talking about? What could be that difficult to accept?_

Minji takes a deep breath. “When Bora and Siyeon found you in the forest yesterday, you were dying. They saved your life by turning you into a vampire.”

“Excuse me, _what?” _Gahyeon’s jaw drops.

“Vampires are real,” Minji confirms. “The six of us are all vampires. And now so are you.”

Gahyeon starts hyperventilating. “I’m a _vampire?”_

Bora rubs Gahyeon’s back gently, and the touch grounds her enough to slow her breathing down.

“I know it’s a lot to take in. We all went through something similar when we were turned," Minji says kindly. "Vampires mostly live like normal humans, except we need to drink blood once or twice every week, and we have some pretty cool abilities that come as part of the package.”

Gahyeon squints. “What kind of abilities?” Despite her shock, she can’t help but be intrigued. _Is this real?_

“We all have enhanced strength and speed, extremely fast healing,” Minji explains, “but there are three types of vampires. There are the shapeshifters, like Siyeon and Handong, the jacks, like Bora and Yoohyeon, and the elementalists, like Yoobin and I.”

_So that’s why Siyeon is a wolf sometimes._ “Which type am I?” Gahyeon asks curiously.

Minji grins. “I have no idea, but we’ll find out in the next little while. Your powers will manifest on their own, and then we’ll train you in how to use them.”

As confused and frightened as she is, Gahyeon can’t help the excitement starting to make her heart race. “What’s a jack?”

“Jack is short for jack-of-all-trades,” Yoohyeon pipes up. “Jacks have access to a small pool of classic vampire abilities and can have an affinity for any number of them. If you’ve seen any vampire movies, or read Dracula, a good portion of their powers are based on the abilities that jacks have.”

“The pool includes levitation, empathy, extra strength and speed, and a form of vampire seduction called siren,” Bora adds. “The number of abilities and the strength of their affinity for them is different for every jack.”

“Bora and I both have access to siren, but she’s is stronger with it than I am,” Yoohyeon explains. "On the other hand, my levitation abilities are pretty strong, and Bora’s aren’t as good."

“I’m pretty strong, though,” Bora grumbles.

Yoohyeon laughs. “She is pretty strong. And she’s got some empathic abilities as well!”

Bora sits up a little straighter and brushes some invisible lint off her shoulder with a grin.

“That’s pretty fucking awesome,” Gahyeon admits. “What about elementalists?”

“Each elementalist is able to manipulate one of the four elements: earth, air, water and fire,” Yoobin says, leaning forward. “I’m an earth elementalist, so I can create small earthquakes, and manipulate earth, trees, rocks, and cement. There are a ton of applications for each element, so it's hard to run out of options or new things to try."”

“I’m a fire elementalist, which gives me a very wide range of things I can do,” Minji adds. “I won’t be able to give you a demo today because I have to open the bar soon, but I’ll go out with you another time and show you.”

“Okay,” Gahyeon nods. “And shapeshifters?

“Each shapeshifter can shapeshift into one animal,” Siyeon says, “and the shapeshifter normally gets a few benefits from their animal form when they’re not in it. Because mine is a wolf, my sense of smell and my eyesight are really, really strong. When I’m shifted, they’re even stronger. I can also run faster than Bora and Yoohyeon, and I’m stronger than both of them.” Siyeon’s eyes are glint with enthusiasm.

“My animal form isn’t suited for combat at all," Handong speaks up quietly. "I’m a cat, so my passive abilities are mostly stealth related. I have a great sense of smell and I can hear really well. I’m also extremely agile and quiet, and I can jump pretty high. And as a cat, I can get into almost anywhere, people will just assume I’m a stray or just following my owner. It makes me pretty good at reconnaissance, but it doesn’t give me an edge in combat, so I’ve had to get creative.”

Fascinated, Gahyeon waits for her to elaborate, but Handong doesn’t go into details.

“Are you with us so far?” Minji asks. “Are you doing okay?”

“I think so,” Gahyeon says slowly. “It’s definitely a lot to take in.”

Minji chuckles. “I understand. You’re doing great. There’s just a couple more things I need to explain, and then you can head out to start your training.”

“Sounds good.”

“There aren’t a lot of vampires in Starsight,” Minji continues, “which is why we decided to come here. But most vampires belong to a clan, like a big family of vampires who live in the same area and work together and protect and fight for each other. There are a few big clans in Seoul and scattered across the country as well. There are a ton in North America, especially in the United States. Clan members are marked with a tattoo; each clan has their own unique symbol registered with Twice, the faction in charge of policing vampires.”

“Are you guys a clan?” Gahyeon asks.

Minji smiles. “Probably the smallest clan in the world, but yeah. Dreamcatcher is just the six of us.” She rolls up her sleeve and holds her wrist out.

A small crescent moon and a second mirrored, much thinner moon are tattooed in black ink facing each other on her wrist. Seven lines of alternating lengths radiate out along the bottom third of the moons in a shallow arc.

“We all have these tattooed somewhere,” Minji says. “It’s how we identify fellow vampires and clan members when we’re out in public”

“All vampires are a part of what’s called the Masquerade,” Bora explains. “We can’t talk about the existence of vampires to humans, or show them our powers. Breaking the Masquerade puts all vampires in danger of being hunted and killed by humans, so we have to keep everything under wraps.”

Gahyeon nods slowly. “I understand.”

“Do you have any questions for us?” Minji asks.

Gahyeon thinks for a moment, and her housing predicament comes to mind. “Where am I going to stay?”

Minji’s eyes widen. “With us, of course! If you’d like to stay, that is! We’d love to have you as part of our family.”

The others nod their assent.

Gahyeon’s jaw drops. “You mean, I can stay? I don’t have to go back to the palace?”

“Of course, you can stay!” Bora shouts, and Gahyeon flinches again at the volume. Bora winces apologetically. “You never have to set foot in the palace again if you don’t want to.” Bora’s voice is calm, low, and reassuring.

Pure relief washes over Gahyeon’s being and it takes her breath away. _I don’t have to go back._ Tears spring to her eyes and she covers her face with her hands.

Bora wraps her arm around Gahyeon.

Gahyeon lifts her head from her hands, shaking. Elation and the unfamiliar sensation of freedom are expanding in her chest and gods, she doesn’t think she’s ever been this happy. She can’t hold back her grin and something inside her flashes and _clicks_, and suddenly the floor begins to shake and a strong gust of wind bursts through the room.

The papers and magazines sitting on the coffee table go flying, and everyone’s hair is whipped around their heads. Several pictures fall off their hooks on the wall and crash to the floor. Then, as quickly as they came, the rumbling and the wind fade away to nothing.

“Yoobin?” Minji cranes her head to look at Yoobin. Her short hair is sticking up in all directions.

Yoobin shakes her head. “Wasn’t me.”

Minji frowns and looks at Gahyeon.

“What?” She asks, confused. “What was that?”

Minji sits back and laughs in disbelief.

“Gahyeon, that was your specialty manifesting. You’re a double elementalist! They’re rare, but they exist!” She shakes her head in wonder.

_I did that?_

“I’m an elementalist?” Gahyeon can’t hide the excitement in her voice.

“A double!” Yoobin is grinning. “Earth and air, this is going to be _epic_.”

Minji turns back to Yoobin. “Will you train her?”

“Of course!” Yoobin’s deep voice is thick with enthusiasm. “We can start as soon as she’s ready.”

“I’m ready now!” Gahyeon is practically vibrating with excitement. “I’m ready to learn how to be strong.”

Bora smiles softly and touches Gahyeon’s cheek. “Gahyeon, you’re already as strong as you need to be. We’ll just be teaching you how to use your strength in a different way.”

Overwhelmed with joy and freedom and _possibilities, _Gahyeon bursts into tears. “Thank you.”

Bora gently wipes Gahyeon’s tears with her fingers, and Siyeon rubs her back.

“Of course, you’re always welcome.”

Minji gets up and takes a box of tissues from the coffee table. She approaches Gahyeon and kneels in front of her, resting a hand on her knee.

“Just one more thing before I have to go get the bar ready to open.” Minji pulls out a tissue and dabs at Gahyeon’s tears as they continue to fall. “Do you want to be part of our family? Do you want to be part of Dreamcatcher?”

Gahyeon’s heart is expanding so quickly in her chest, she can’t even get the words out. She’s never received this much care and affection in her life, and she nods desperately.

Minji’s grin widens, and she squeezes Gahyeon’s knee. “Welcome to Dreamcatcher.”

She embraces Gahyeon softly. “I’ll work out the tattoo with our artist, is that okay? You can get it done tomorrow morning if you’d like.”

Gahyeon’s smile is watery. “That sounds perfect, thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.” Minji gives Gahyeon one more smile and turns to the others. “Yoobin and Handong, can you guys be in charge of training Gahyeon for today? We’ll switch off depending on who’s working the bar.”

Yoobin nods, lips curving up. “Of course!”

“Perfect! We’ll see you guys later tonight.” Minji starts to head out, and then pauses and turns back to Gahyeon.

“I know all of this is intense and overwhelming, and I want you to know that we’ll be as open and honest about everything as possible. You’ve been through an unbelievably difficult time, and you don’t have to tell us about it until you’re ready, okay?”

“Okay,” Gahyeon chokes out, overcome with gratitude.

Minji heads towards the door, and Siyeon, Bora, and Yoohyeon get up to follow her.

Bora presses a kiss to the top of Gahyeon’s head. “We’ll be back in a few hours. You’re in the best hands with Yoobin and Handong, I promise.”

Gahyeon tilts her head back to look at her and smiles at her upside-down. Bora laughs and Siyeon squeezes Gahyeon’s shoulder.

“See you soon.”

With that, the four vampires leave the apartment, locking the door behind them, leaving Gahyeon, Yoobin, and Handong alone.

Yoobin quickly approaches Gahyeon and helps dry her tears. Her hands are gentle and warm, brushing Gahyeon's tears away with careful motions. When she finishes, Handong throws out the dirty tissues, and holds out her hand.

With anticipation building in her stomach and her veins lit up with unadulterated happiness, Gahyeon reaches out, grasps Handong’s hand and pulls herself up.

“Are you ready to go have some fun?” Handong’s eyes glint with excitement and eagerness.

“More than ready.” Gahyeon grins. “Let’s get started.”


	5. I'm Casting a Spell, Save Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, welcome back! This chapter ended up being longer than I thought it would and I'm really happy with it. Prepare yourselves for Dadong fluff, some Yoobin badassery, Handong being wise and giving good advice, and Gahyeon starting to learn what she's capable of. Keep your eyes out for some Dadong makeouts at the end; I've adjusted the rating of the fic for it just in case! Enjoy!

* * *

_God_, Yoobin thinks as she takes in the sight of the field around her. _We haven’t been here in so long._

Yoobin, Handong, and Gahyeon are sitting several feet away from Dreamcatcher’s SUV in the middle of an open field, several miles away from the outskirts of Polaris, the capital of Starsight. The field stretches are far as Yoobin can see, and she can’t stop the smile that pulls at her lips as the sun warms her, lungs filling with fresh air, and the earth calling for her attention with a gentle tug in her veins. Yoobin’s wearing a white cotton t-shirt under an enormous unbuttoned light blue men’s shirt, and the bottom and sides of the blue shirt swirl and jump as the breeze hits her.

This field has been Dreamcatcher’s place to train since they had arrived at Starsight several years ago. Evidence of their countless hours of practice is everywhere; there are holes in the ground where earth has been lifted, the grass is slightly trampled, and scorch marks riddle the trees and grass where Minji has thrown her flames.

The familiarity and comfort of the place she had learned to overcome her trauma washes over her being. She tilts her head back and closes her eyes for a moment, breathing in the scent of the earth and grass surrounding her.

Yoobin looks over at Handong. Handong’s shoulders are relaxed, a blinding smile tilting her lips, and then suddenly Yoobin can’t breathe because that smile is now directed at her. The light of the sun is hitting Handong just right, causing the dark brown of her eyes to glow, highlighting the prominence of her jawline, and surrounding her head with her own personal halo.

Yoobin can't help herself. She leans over to Handong and presses a soft kiss to her cheek and links their fingers. Handong flushes pink and her smile widens. Yoobin's chest swells with affection. Her lips curve up as she feels Handing squeeze her fingers, and she squeezes back.

"I can't believe how long it's been since we were here," Yoobin says.

"Way too long," Handong hums, and Yoobin can hear the smirk her in voice as she continues, "I've missed watching you show off."

Yoobin's raises her eyebrows and her smile grows.

"Show off, huh? I'll show you a show off," and then she's swiftly wrapping her arms around Handong, her shirt flowing with the movement and covering their sides as Yoobin eases Handong down to the soft grass and tickles her mercilessly.

"Hey!"

Almost immediately, Handong is squirming and laughing loudly as she tries to escape Yoobin's long fingers. Yoobin's laughing too as she tickles Handong's ribs, slowly lowering herself on top of her as she does. Handong’s citrusy scent strengthens the closer Yoobin gets to her, and all of a sudden, it’s all she can focus on.

_God, she smells so good._

Yoobin reaches down to brush Handong's hair out of her eyes, but suddenly her form shifts, and then Handong is smoothly replaced by a bright orange cat.

  
Yoobin leans back, pouting. "Cheater."  
  
In response, the cat sticks her tongue out and rolls her eyes before deliberately hitting Yoobin with her tail and walking over to sit by Gahyeon.  
  
"Traitor," Yoobin calls, sitting up and crossing her legs.  
  
Handong huffs. Yoobin’s heart melts at how cute the tiny, high-pitched sound is, and she blows Handong a kiss. Handong leaps towards her, holding out a paw to catch the kiss midair. Yoobin grunts slightly and laughs when Handong lands in her lap, twenty pounds of cat hitting her at full speed and knocking her back a little.

Steadying herself, she gently scratches Handong behind her little cat ears. Handong purrs, enjoying the attention for a moment, and then hops off Yoobin’s lap and lands onto the ground next to her. She blurs and shifts, and then Handong is sitting next to her, her hair colour flashing the same bright orange as her fur had been before fading to the gray colour she dyed it to.

“Dork,” Handong teases, reaching out for Yoobin’s hand, and Yoobin takes it, lacing their fingers together.

Gahyeon shifts, snapping Yoobin out of her Handong-induced reverie. Gahyeon is watching them with an odd look in her eyes, head tilted slightly to the side, and a soft smile on her lips.

_Interesting._

“Sorry about that,” Yoobin says sheepishly to Gahyeon. “I got a little distracted.” She sticks her tongue out at Handong.

Handong grins. “What can I say? I _am_ pretty distracting.”

“Damn straight, you are.” Yoobin’s eyes are glued back to the deep red of Handong’s lips.

“Yoobin-ah,” Handong laughs, stroking the back of Yoobin’s hand with her thumb, “You know there’s nothing straight about me.”

Yoobin snorts, and waggles her eyebrows. “Oh, I know.”

With some effort, Yoobin tears her gaze away from her dangerously beautiful girlfriend and back to Gahyeon.

“Okay,” Yoobin takes a deep breath to focus her thoughts. “So, I’ve never personally met a double elementalist before, because they’re so rare, but I know a bit about how their powers work.”

Gahyeon leans forward eagerly.

“The power applications are just like a regular elementalist, so you can do everything both an earth and an air elementalist can,” Yoobin continues. “The only difference is that your power output for each element is split in half.”

Gahyeon’s brow furrows. “So, if you and I had a strength competition with our earth powers, I’d lose because I’d be at half your power?”

“Exactly,” Yoobin nods. She pulls up the sleeves on her shirt, so the cuffs aren’t covering her hands. “And the same would apply if you did that with an air elementalist. But that doesn’t mean that you couldn’t also use your other element at the same time for an advantage in a fight. You may only be at half strength as an earth or air elementalist, but you can channel both elements at the same time.”

Yoobin can see the meaning of her words hit Gahyeon as a grin starts to pull at her lips. “That’s so cool!”

Yoobin laughs. “It’s very cool,” she agrees. “We’re going to focus more on your earth powers for now, because it’ll be easier for me to train you. Once you get a hang of the basics of earth, then we can try out air and go from there!”

“Makes sense,” Gahyeon says.

She’s shifting slightly, and Yoobin thinks the time for theory is over. She knows Gahyeon must be dying to know what she can do.

“So,” Yoobin says with a grin. “Are you ready to get started?”

“Gods, yes!” Gahyeon is practically vibrating with excitement.

“Okay!” Yoobin releases Handong’s hand and gets to her feet. “This is just a demo, to show you what you’ll be able to do once you learn the basics. We’re going to start from the bottom and work our way up.”

“Sounds good!” Gahyeon’s eyes are wide.

Handong scoots over to sit next to her. “Don’t blink,” she advises, voice light. “You’re not going to want to miss a second of this.”

Yoobin chuckles, rolling up the sleeves of her shirt. She stretches for a moment, anticipation building, and jogs ten feet away from the two vampires watching her. She plants her feet, inhales deeply, and lets the solid, steady presence of the earth fill her. Yoobin smiles, braces herself, and throws her right arm out to the side.

Immediately, there’s a dry crunching sound as a chunk of earth shoots from the ground several feet behind her to hover above her outstretched hand. She whips her arm forward, and the chunk of earth and rock hurtles towards one of the trees several hundred feet away. It impacts with a _crack,_ embedding itself into the trunk of the tree, sending bark and splinters of wood flying.

Yoobin whoops loudly and she can hear Gahyeon and Handong cheering behind her. Grinning at her success, she spins to face the girls and winks.

“Check this out!”

Yoobin turns to face away from them again, cracks her neck to the side, and takes off into a sprint. She pumps her arms and legs as hard as she can, excitement pouring through her. The field blurs around her as she picks up speed. She concentrates, extending her senses into the earth as she runs, waiting for the right moment.

_There._

Yoobin bends her knees and the ground underneath her shoots upwards in a stalagmite formation. Taking advantage of the momentum, she launches herself into the air. Adrenaline pours through her veins and the wind brings tears to her eyes as she soars in an arc. She holds her arms out and shouts her elation to the sky as she reaches the apex, wind whipping at her hair and catching in her open shirt.

_God, I missed this so much._

Yoobin revels in her flight for a moment longer, before regretfully looking down at the ground and reaching out with her senses again. She focuses, holds her left arm out and summons an enormous disk of earth up underneath her.

As gravity begins to reassert control, Yoobin crouches on the disk, keeping it firmly attached to her feet, and using it as an anchor, slows her descent until she’s hovering ten feet or so above the ground. She leaps down, bending her knees when she hits, and jogs back to the two vampires waiting for her.

Gahyeon is on her feet, jaw practically on the ground, and Handong wolf-whistles as Yoobin approaches.

“_What?”_ Gahyeon shouts, eyes wide with wonder and disbelief. “That was the most _epic_ thing I’ve ever seen in my life!”

Yoobin laughs, breathing hard. “I’m glad you liked it!”

Yoobin looks over at Handong, whose lower lip is caught between her teeth, and is looking at her intensely, pupils dilated. Handong doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t need to. The expression on her face is everything Yoobin could have wanted.

Handong cocks an eyebrow meaningfully, raking her gaze up and down Yoobin’s body, and Yoobin can’t help the flush that crawls up her neck and cheeks and burns at the tips of her ears.

Yoobin takes Handong’s hand again and sits back down on the ground, shivering when Handong strokes the sensitive skin of her inner wrist and leans in to plant a soft kiss on the edge of Yoobin’s mouth. Her lips linger for a moment and Yoobin’s breath catches in her throat. _Jesus Christ._

Yoobin gestures for Gahyeon to sit down with them again and Gahyeon does, still looking a little stunned.

“So,” Yoobin’s voice comes out a little deeper and huskier, and she has to clear her throat before she continues. Handong smirks knowingly. “That was just a demo of the kinds of things you’re capable of. But like I mentioned before, we’re gonna start with the basics and build you a strong foundation for your powers.”

Gahyeon nods. “That makes sense.” She’s hanging onto every word now, and she’s looking at Yoobin with a wide-eyed, rapt focus.

Yoobin leans forward. “When your abilities were triggered back at the apartment, do you remember what you were feeling?”

“I do, yeah.” Gahyeon’s voice is steady, with a hint of newfound confidence. “Relief and freedom, and the hope that I could finally be part of a real family and learn how to have my physical strength match the strength in here.” She taps her chest.

_God, the things she must’ve gone through. She looks soft and innocent, but this girl is made of steel._

Yoobin smiles. “That’s perfect. Now, I want you to close your eyes and try to bring up that feeling again, and when it comes to you, I want you to push out with it, and see what happens.”

“Okay,” Gahyeon closes her eyes and breathes deeply.

After a moment or two, Gahyeon’s shoulders relax and a smile begins to curl at the edges of her lips.

_She’s got it!_

Suddenly, Gahyeon’s eyes snap open and she inhales sharply, and as she does, a small shockwave bursts out through the earth in a radius around her. The force shoves Yoobin and Handong away from Gahyeon, sending them tumbling several feet away.

Both vampires roll with it, absorbing the impact. Yoobin and Handong cheer as they make their way back to Gahyeon, whose jaw is hanging open in disbelief.

“You did it!”

“_I_ did that?”

Handong nods vigorously. “You did!”

Gahyeon laughs in delight, eyes shining, and looks down at her hands. “Can I do it again?”

“Of course!” Yoobin kneels in front of Gahyeon and ruffles her hair, smiling widely. “That’s what we’re here for!”

Gahyeon claps her hands with excitement, looking up at Yoobin with a huge grin. Affection warms Yoobin’s chest; she barely knows this girl, but it’s impossible not to like her.

Yoobin sits back down with Handong. “This time, I want you to try to keep your eyes open and focus your energy on a specific area of the ground next to you. See if you can get that one spot to move a little.”

Gahyeon looks down at the earth in front of her, brow crinkling with concentration. After a moment, the ground begins to vibrate slightly, and a fist-sized ball of dirt and grass extricates itself and rolls towards Yoobin and Handong.

Yoobin’s raises her eyebrows, impressed. “That was great!”

“Thank you!” Gahyeon is panting, forehead glistening with sweat, but she’s beaming ear to ear. “What’s next?”

Yoobin tilts her head to the side, thinking. _I want to make this fun for her._ And then it hits her.

“Let’s go over there,” she points to an area several hundred feet away from the SUV. “I don’t want to damage the car.”

“Okay!” Gahyeon gets to her feet, brushing blades of grass off her joggers as she does, and heads over to the area Yoobin pointed at.

“Dongie, do you want to come watch?” Yoobin gets up and holds her hand out for her girlfriend.

Handong looks up at her, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand. “I wouldn’t miss it.” She grasps Yoobin’s hand, and Yoobin pulls her up.

“You won’t get bored?” Yoobin asks softly.

Handong reaches up and brushes Yoobin’s hair from her forehead with a soft smile. “With you? Never.”

Yoobin blushes and ducks her head.

“Besides, I can think of an extra fun way to stay entertained and keep you company at the same time.” Handong winks. Yoobin’s heart leaps in her chest and her blush deepens.

Handong laughs. “Not like that, Yoobin-ah. That’s for later,” she teases, hushed.

Yoobin coughs, flustered, and she can’t stop her bashful grin. Handong strokes her cheek. “Let me get on your back.”

_Oh. _Now Yoobin understands. She snorts and turns away from her girlfriend, holding her arms out behind her. Handong leaps onto her back and Yoobin catches her easily, although Handong’s proximity – especially her legs around her hips – is making her dizzy, and the sensation of her breaths unfurling at Yoobin’s throat is causing her skin to tingle and her heart to race.

Yoobin shifts to adjust Handong’s position on her back, and as she does, Handong transforms again, and climbs onto Yoobin’s shoulders, stretching herself around the back of Yoobin’s neck.

Smiling and shaking her head, she reaches out, summoning Gahyeon’s ball of dirt to her hand. She grips it tightly as she jogs over to Gahyeon, who’s staring at the ground at her feet, an expression of deep concentration on her face.

“Hey,” Yoobin says gently. “Are you doing okay?”

Gahyeon looks up at Yoobin. “Yeah!”

Then she notices the ball of earth in Yoobin’s hand. “What’s that for?” She asks.

Yoobin’s eyes crinkle. “I want you to get a little taste of the different things you can do before we focus on a specific ability,” she answers. “We’re gonna play catch with this. Except you’re not going to touch the ball with your hands.” Yoobin releases the ball and floats it next to her head.

Gahyeon’s eyebrows shoot up. “How am I supposed to do that? I can barely make the ground move!” Her voice is loud and panicked.

“That’s totally okay,” Yoobin reassures her, voice steady and calm. “This is just to give you an idea of how to use your fine motor control. I don’t expect you to catch it perfectly, okay?”

“Okay,” Gahyeon sounds somewhat reassured. “I’m sorry I freaked out. I just really hate expectations,” she adds quietly.

“Hey,” Yoobin meets her eyes. “It’s okay. We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. We can go back to trying to make mini earthquakes, or we could try something else entirely. This is just an exercise, that’s all. We can come back to it another day, if you want.”

Gahyeon takes a deep breath. “No,” she says, “I want to give it a try. Besides, if I don’t learn fine control, how am I gonna be able to do any of the things you demonstrated?”

“That’s true!” Yoobin smiles encouragingly. “So, all you have to do is focus on the ball the same way you focused on that one spot of earth earlier, okay? Just like you channeled your power to make it move, you’re going to make it stop.”

“Okay,” Gahyeon says, shaking out her arms. “I'll give it a shot.”

“Awesome! I’m going to toss it at you super gently, okay? Just keep your eyes on it. You can also hold out your arm if it’ll help you visualize how to extend your power.”

Yoobin reaches out and takes the ball from where it’s hovering next to her. Instantly, her mental connection to it disappears.

Yoobin backs up a few feet. “Let me know when you’re ready.”

Gahyeon bounces on the balls of her feet and furrows her brow. “I’m ready.”

“Here it comes!” Yoobin gently throws the ball underhanded towards Gahyeon.

Gahyeon holds out her arm, teeth clenched, but the ball lands at her feet and rolls until it bumps at her toes. “Shit.”

“It’s okay,” Yoobin reassures, “Toss it back and let’s try again.”

Gahyeon bends to pick up the ball and throws it to Yoobin. It goes a little wide, but Yoobin pulls it to her, bringing it to her palm with a satisfying thud.

“Are you ready?”

Gahyeon nods, holding her hand out. Yoobin throws the ball again, and Gahyeon concentrates hard, but the ball hits the ground next to her feet once more.

“God damn it!” Gahyeon groans with frustration stomping her foot.

Yoobin rushes over to her. “Hey, look at me.” Gahyeon looks up, eyes glistening slightly.

On impulse, Yoobin reaches out and grips Gahyeon’s shoulders gently. “This is your very first time doing this. You just found out a few hours ago that you’re a vampire and that now you have wacky superpowers. I don’t expect you to get it perfectly on the first try, or the second try or the tenth try. This exercise is _hard. _You’re focusing your power into a moving target. This kind of thing takes hours to master.” Yoobin lifts Gahyeon’s chin with a finger. “You’re just getting started, and _that’s okay_.” 

“Thank you,” Gahyeon drops her head, sniffling. “I’m sorry for getting emotional. It’s just that, if I didn’t meet expectations in the palace, _really_ bad things would happen.”

Yoobin’s heart aches with sympathy. _You poor girl._ “I understand,” she says haltingly. “Patterns like that take a really long time to unlearn.” Yoobin hesitates, struggling to find the words she’s looking for.

She’s always been a woman of few words, preferring to show how she feels through actions, and that isn’t going to help her very much here.

She looks over at Handong, eyes wide. Handong understands and hops off of Yoobin’s shoulders, transforming in midair.

“You’re not alone, and you don’t have to do the unlearning on your own. You’re here with us now, and we’re going to show you how to make sure that no one hurts you again. Okay?” Handong’s voice is steady and calm.

Gahyeon chuckles slightly, and her tears overflow onto her cheeks. Handong gently brushes them away with her fingers. “Okay,” Gahyeon says, voice rough and filled with emotion.

“Do you want to keep trying?” Handong asks.

Gahyeon nods. “Yeah.”

“Try to extend your will into the ball, and make a connection with it,” Handong suggests. “It’s harder because it’s moving, and the movement will confuse you. All you need to focus on for now is making a connection with the ball itself.”

“Okay,” Gahyeon says shakily. “I’ll give it a shot.”

Handong tucks a lock of Gahyeon’s black hair behind her ear and smiles at her. “You can do it!”

Yoobin and Handong back up several feet, and Yoobin summons the ball back to her hand. She turns to Handong.

“Thanks, Dongdong,” she says quietly.

Handong smiles softly. “Always.”

Yoobin looks back to Gahyeon, who seems noticeably calmer and more composed._ Thank God for Handong._

“Ready?” Yoobin calls.

“Yeah!” Gahyeon shouts back.

Yoobin throws the ball, hoping that Handong’s advice has clicked with Gahyeon.

Gahyeon braces herself, holding her arm out, and as the ball approaches her, the ball suddenly shoots to the side and lands somewhere in the taller grass, out of view.

“Holy shit!” She shouts, elated. “Did you see that?”

Yoobin’s jaw drops with disbelief. “I did! Way to go!” She claps, pride rushing through her.

Handong is similarly impressed. “That was amazing!”

“Can I try again?” Gahyeon asks, jumping up and down.

“For sure!” Yoobin says. She creates another ball of grass and dirt from the earth at her feet and picks it up. “You got this!”

And for the next hour or so, Yoobin and Handong take turns tossing the ball at Gahyeon, who is beginning to understand the difference between using her power to halt the ball’s momentum and redirecting it.

It takes some time, but as dusk begins to darken the sky around them, Gahyeon finally succeeds in stopping the ball midair.

“Oh, my God!” Gahyeon shouts.

She floats the ball steadily in front of her for a moment before the surprise causes her concentration to break and the ball drops to the ground in front of her feet.

“You did it!” Yoobin throws her arms out to the sides in excitement, chest swelling with pride.

Gahyeon is grinning ear to ear, and she runs over to Yoobin and Handong and hugs them tightly. They’re in a three-way hug, and it’s a little awkward, but Yoobin reaches out and wraps an arm around Gahyeon, whose shoulders are shaking. It takes a moment for Yoobin to realize that she’s crying.

Yoobin and Handong embrace Gahyeon tightly. Handong strokes her hair, and Yoobin rubs her back soothingly. Gahyeon lifts her head a few seconds later, eyes red-rimmed and teary.

“Thank you,” she says, voice cracking. “Thank you for being so patient and understanding. This is the best day of my life; I can’t believe it’s _me_ that’s making the earth move like that! I can’t believe that finally, after spending so many years being trapped and helpless, I finally have _power, _something I can use to fight back, so I never have to feel that way again.”

“You’re always welcome,” Handong says gently. “We’re here for you, and we’re going to help you and train you as best as we can.”

“That sounds perfect,” Gahyeon’s voice is invigorated by her success. “Can we keep going?” 

Yoobin looks up to see the sky rapidly darkening. “It’s getting dark. I know we have really good night vision, but I’d rather we train in daylight for now, since we’re just getting started. It’ll be much easier for you, and we won’t risk an accident. We can come back tomorrow, though, after you get your tattoo! How does that sound?”

“Sounds good!"

“Also, we want to build your stamina,” Handong adds. “Using your powers too much right away will exhaust you, and it’s much easier to train you if you’re as close to full strength as possible.”

“Makes sense,”

“Perfect,” Yoobin looks up at the sky again. “Let’s get back to the car and head home.”

The three vampires quickly head back to the SUV. Yoobin climbs into the driver’s seat and starts the car as Handong gets into the passenger’s seat and Gahyeon gets in the back. Yoobin straps herself in, and after checking that the others have done up their seatbelts as well, she starts driving back to Polaris.

It’s around a half hour drive back to the city, and Gahyeon fills the time by asking Yoobin and Handong what other things she’ll be able to do with her earth powers.

“Your imagination is really your only limit,” Yoobin says. “You’ll be able to collapse concrete walls, make little earthquakes like you did before, and manipulate plants, trees and wood. Basically, you can control almost everything that comes from the earth.”

Yoobin and Handong spend a few more minutes answering Gahyeon’s questions before noticing that her voice is getting sleepier and sleepier until she starts dozing off. They giggle quietly and let Gahyeon sleep for the rest of the drive.

When Yoobin pulls up at the back side of Dreamcatcher, she and Handong wake up Gahyeon, who stirs extremely adorably before opening her eyes and yawning. “Are we back?” She asks, sleepily.

“Yeah,” Yoobin says quietly, “We made it.”

“Let’s get you inside,” Handong says, “And then you can go to sleep. I’m sure you’re exhausted.”

“Sounds good,” Gahyeon yawns again and gets out of the car.

Yoobin locks the car and heads up to the back entrance of the bar. She picks out the key to the back door from her keyring and unlocks it, holding the door open for Gahyeon and Handong, before entering and closing the door behind her. She locks it carefully, and follows the two vampires up the stairs and into their apartment.

“Come with me,” Handong pads in the direction of her and Yoobin’s room. “I’ll give you some pajamas, and you can sleep in Bora and Siyeon’s room for now. They won’t be back till much later.”

“Okay,” Gahyeon follows Handong into the hallway.

Yoobin heads into the kitchen and pulls out two bottles of blood from the fridge. _Gahyeon is definitely going to need this. _She goes into her and Handong’s room to see Handong handing Gahyeon a large t-shirt and a pair of sleep shorts.

“Thank you,” Gahyeon says gratefully, taking the pajamas and holding them carefully out in front of her.

“You’re welcome!” Handong smiles.

Yoobin approaches Gahyeon and hands her one of the bottles of blood.

“Here,” she says. “Make sure you drink this before you go to bed. I know that the idea of drinking blood is gross, but your body needs it now, especially after everything you’ve been through. It’ll replenish your powers and help your body heal from the turn.”

“Okay,” Gahyeon says hesitantly, looking slightly nauseated.

“Do you want me to walk you to Bora’s room?” Yoobin asks.

“No, it’s okay,” Gahyeon says. “I remember where it is. But thank you!”

“No problem,” Yoobin scratches the back of her neck. “Sleep well!”

“You too,” Gahyeon yawns again, and heads out the door.

“Good night!” Handong calls out after her.

They hear a faint “good night” and the sound of a door closing.

Yoobin turns to Handong and wordlessly falls into her arms, nuzzling against her neck.

“That was amazing,” Yoobin mumbles. “But I’m so tired.”

“I’m not surprised,” Handong chuckles. “You really pulled out all the stops for her. I haven’t seen you do that trick with the disk in months.”

“I wanted her to get excited about the things she can do now,” Yoobin meets Handong’s eyes, a smile tugging at her lips. “But I also kinda wanted to show off a little for you.” Yoobin’s cheeks tinge with pink.

“I noticed,” Handong leans in so her lips are brushing Yoobin’s ear. “I was very impressed.”

Yoobin flushes deeper, pleased.

“Go drink your blood,” Handong says affectionately. “And then we can get ready for bed.”

_Bed, huh? _

“Yes, ma’am,” Yoobin grins.

She opens the bottle and starts to drink it down. It tastes like iron and copper and a bit like fruit – any resonance from the person it had been drained from has almost completely faded away, and Yoobin grimaces slightly at the taste. Blood is always best fresh from the source, since the resonance from whatever emotional state the source is in flavours the blood.

Yoobin downs it as quickly as she can, tossing the bottle into the garbage can in the bathroom across the hall. She brushes her teeth and returns to her and Handong’s room, already feeling better. When Yoobin enters the room, Handong is in the middle of putting on her pajama top, wearing only her bra and her sleep shorts, and Yoobin nearly has a heart attack.

“Jesus Christ,” she breathes.

Handong smirks. She strides over to Yoobin, and gently maneuvers her to the bed so she’s sitting down with her girlfriend standing over her, looking down.

Yoobin’s heart is racing, and when Handong cups her cheek with one hand, Yoobin leans into it. “You did so well today,” Handong says.

Yoobin flushes; praise is one of her weaknesses and Handong knows it.

Handong sits down next to her and gently tugs her up so they’re both lying on the pillows.

“I was so nervous,” Yoobin confesses, snuggling in to Handong’s chest and wrapping an arm around her. “I’ve never trained someone before, so I was really scared I wasn’t going to do it right.”

“You did everything right.” Handong presses a kiss to the top of Yoobin’s head and Yoobin sighs, comfort and warmth suffusing her chest.

“I love you,” Yoobin sighs against Handong’s collarbone. “Thanks for your help. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I love you too,” Handong weaves her fingers through Yoobin’s short hair “And you’re always welcome.”

She gently scratches at her scalp and Yoobin practically purrs.

“I nearly tripped over my own feet from that look you gave me after I came back from the disk trick,” Yoobin says huskily, lifting her head to meet Handong’s eyes.

“Did you?” Handong’s voice is innocent but her eyes are dark and they sparkle knowingly.

“You know _exactly_ what you to do me,” Yoobin’s lips curve as she leans in closer.

“Do I?” Handong is openly teasing, eyes crinkling with affection as she meets Yoobin halfway and brushes their lips together.

Handong tastes like citrus and dark chocolate and the familiarity of her taste and the sensation of her lips and tongue against hers warms her skin and fills her chest. She deepens the kiss, moaning when Handong slips her tongue in her mouth, licking at the back of her teeth.

Yoobin glides her hand towards the edge of Handong’s shirt and toys with it, but before she can slide her fingers underneath and touch her girlfriend’s toned skin, Handong breaks the kiss and flips them so she’s on top, thighs bracketing Yoobin’s narrow hips.

Yoobin’s breath stutters in her throat as she looks up at the gray-haired girl, eyes filled with affection and admiration. Handong’s eyes are black with want, pupils dilated, her shirt is hanging loose off her thin shoulders, her short gray hair barely brushing the bottom of her neck, lips kiss-swollen, and Yoobin thinks she’s never seen anything so stunningly ethereal.

Yoobin reaches up and gently brushes her thumb along Handong’s high cheekbone. “God, you take my breath away. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my life.”

Handong smiles softly and her cheeks burn pink. She doesn’t respond with words, but she leans in and kisses Yoobin, softer this time.

Yoobin breaks the kiss to whisper against Handong’s lips.

“Can I show you?” Yoobin’s voice is thick and shaking with awe and desire, her heart is expanding so quickly in her chest, she can barely get the words out.

Yoobin feels Handong’s smile against her lips. “Yoobin-ah, you never have to ask. I’m always yours.”

Yoobin’s smile widens and she flips them over again, and begins to kiss her way down Handong’s long neck. Handong whimpers when Yoobin sucks at her pulse-point, and then moves further downwards to bite at her clavicle, scraping her sharpened incisors against Handong’s smooth skin.

Handong moans her approval, fingers tangling in Yoobin’s hair as she works her way down. She raises her arms up to help Yoobin remove her shirt, and then Yoobin is slowly mouthing hot kisses down her sternum, fingers stroking at the toned skin of Handong’s waist and abdomen.

The intoxicating scent of Handong’s skin combined with the sounds of her breathless moans hit Yoobin’s brain, burning in her veins as she makes her way further down Handong’s body.

Her hands are shaking, and when Handong lifts her perfect hips to wiggle her sleep shorts down her thighs, well, other than the sensation of Handong’s heated skin against her fingers and lips, Yoobin can’t think about much of anything at all. 


	6. A shadow keeps suffocating me right now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! I'm so sorry for the delay; the jewish high holidays have started and I've been so busy with preparations and the holidays themselves that I haven't had time to sit down and write properly. I hope you enjoy this 6k monster to make up for it! Keep your eyes out for some fun idol cameos and name drops ;)
> 
> This chapter is starting to bring on the angst bc of gahyeon's backstory reveal and a bit of bora and siyeon's as well, so i just want to add a cw for abuse and ptsd, just in case.

Gahyeon awakens to the sound of ear-piercing screams. Her eyes snap open, adrenaline flooding her system, and in her frantic rush to get up and discover the source, she falls off the edge of the bed and lands in an ungraceful heap on the floor with a muted _thud_.

_Shit._

Gahyeon untangles herself as fast as she can and leaps to her feet to see Siyeon writhing on the bed, crying out in terror. Her eyes are squeezed shut, tears pouring down her cheeks. Bora is on her knees at Siyeon’s side.

“Singnie, baby, it’s okay, you’re just having a nightmare.” Despite the concern stiffening Bora’s shoulders and back, her voice is calm and soothing.

Gahyeon takes a step towards them, and Bora whirls around, hair flying, and holds her arm out to stop Gahyeon from approaching. Gahyeon freezes, eyes wide. Bora is breathing hard, eyebrows furrowed.

“Don’t come closer,” she warns, “I don’t want her to hurt you accidentally.”

“Okay,” Gahyeon’s voice comes out in a squeak.

Bora offers Gahyeon a reassuring smile before spinning back to her girlfriend. Gahyeon watches as Siyeon continues to scream and jerk and thrash, as if she’s being tortured by an invisible phantom.

“Siyeon, darling, please. Everything is okay, I’m here, and you’re safe. They don’t have you anymore.” Bora is beginning to sound close to tears herself, voice leaking with anguish.

_What could they have gone through that would leave scars this deep? Who had Siyeon? _

Gahyeon is breathing fast, concern for Siyeon racing through her veins, and she’s overcome with helplessness. Her fingers twitch involuntarily as if they’re reaching out to help, but she holds them back, knowing there’s nothing she can do.

Keeping her distance, she moves around the bed so she can better see what’s happening. Bora is brushing Siyeon’s hair off her face as she writhes, still murmuring words of comfort. She links their fingers, holding tightly, and then presses Siyeon’s palm against her chest, right where her heart is.

“Siyeon-ah, you’re safe, I promise. I’m here.” Bora’s voice is shaking with emotion, eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Please, come back to me.”

As Gahyeon watches, lungs tight with emotion, Siyeon’s movements begin to slow, and her cries lose their intensity, as if the feeling of Bora’s heart beating a tattoo under her fingertips is an anchor of safety and security. Siyeon stirs and slowly opens her eyes. When she sees Bora kneeling above her, holding her hand to her chest, she throws herself upwards and into Bora’s arms.

Bora is tiny, and the force of Siyeon’s desperate embrace nearly knocks her off the bed, but she manages to keep her balance. She wraps her arms around her girlfriend, one arm across her back, and the other coming up to hold the back of Siyeon’s head as she buries her face in Bora’s neck, shaking with sobs.

“They had me again,” Siyeon chokes out, voice barely discernable against Bora’s neck.

The tears in Bora’s eyes slip free and streak down her jaw as she closes her eyes and kisses the top of Siyeon’s head, lips lingering against her hair.

“I know,” Bora shifts so she’s meeting Siyeon’s eyes, and cups her cheeks in her hands. “It’s okay. I got you; I’m here. They don’t have you anymore.”

Siyeon leans in so their foreheads are touching. They stay like that for a minute, just looking at each other, eyes filled with old pain and brimming with affection and love. Gahyeon averts her gaze and shifts; this is the most intimate thing she’s ever seen, and she can’t help but feel like she’s intruding. Gahyeon decides she’s imposed long enough and grabs her borrowed clothes off the floor, and heads out of the room as stealthily as she can.

She makes her way to the bathroom across the hall. The door is open and the light is on, so she peeks in to see Minji brushing her teeth, toothpaste coating her lips. She’s wearing fluffy bunny pajamas, hair up in a messy high ponytail, with a pair of black round glasses perched high on her nose.

Minji waves at Gahyeon before spitting out her toothpaste and rinsing her mouth out.

“Good morning!” Looking at Minji’s smile feels like staring into the sun.

“Hey, good morning,” Gahyeon is still a little shaken and it must show because Minji’s smile dims, and she places her hand on Gahyeon’s shoulder.

Minji’s hand is incredibly warm, and the heat seeps through her pajamas, warming her skin. Perks of being a fire elementalist, Gahyeon figures.

“Siyeon had a nightmare, huh?”

Gahyeon nods. “Yeah, a really bad one. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Her voice is soft. “Can I ask what happened to her?” She asks hesitantly.

Minji takes a deep breath. “I won’t go into details right now, but Bora and Siyeon were tortured by some of the worst vampires out there. They still suffer from nightmares about it sometimes.”

“I – _what_?” Gahyeon’s heart drops. “Gods, that’s horrible!”

“Yeah,” Minji sighs. “But they’re doing much better lately; the nightmares are much less frequent.”

“That’s good,” Gahyeon pauses. “I’m sorry, I have no idea what to say.”

“That’s okay,” Minji offers her a smile. “I don’t really know what to say when talking about it either.” She shakes her head a little, as if she’s clearing away bad memories. “Let’s have some breakfast, okay? Then we’ll go to the tattoo parlor.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Come into the kitchen when you’re ready and I’ll make us something to eat.”

“Okay,” Gahyeon’s cheeks burn pink. She isn’t accustomed so someone actually _wanting_ to cook for her. “Please let me know if I can do anything to help.”

Minji laughs and waves her off. “Not today, Gahyeon, don’t worry about it.”

“I – okay,” Gahyeon concedes, ducking her head slightly.

Minji ruffles Gahyeon’s hair and heads out of the bathroom.

Mind still swirling from the events of the morning and what she’s learned about Bora and Siyeon, Gahyeon leans against the sink, and looks at herself in the mirror. Her black hair is a little mussed, both from sleep and from Minji’s fingers, so she combs it out with her fingers and some help from water from the sink.

Gahyeon takes off the pajamas that Handong had given her and puts on the joggers and pink sweater. She’ll have to go shopping for clothes, and for some toiletries too. She decides to talk to Minji about it on the way to the tattoo parlor. _Maybe we can stop in somewhere on the way back_, she thinks.

Gahyeon splashes her face with some water and pats herself dry using one of the hand towels by the door. There’s a small bin filled with used towels, so she throws her towel in too. Gahyeon picks up the pajamas, switches off the light, and walks towards the kitchen.

Yoohyeon is lying on the couch in the den, sporting an enormous set of gaming headphones, gripping her PlayStation controller for dear life, brow furrowed in concentration at the TV. Gahyeon grins at the sight; she looks like a grumpy puppy. She waves at Yoohyeon, who glances up briefly to flash her a smile before lowering her gaze back to the TV and swearing into the mic.

As Gahyeon approaches the kitchen, the smell of eggs cooking wafts towards her, making her stomach growl. She can’t even remember the last time she had a meal. She steps past the threshold to see Minji at the stove, frying omelettes and singing softly to herself. The rice cooker next to the stove is steaming.

“Hey,” She says tentatively.

Minji turns around. “Hey!” She waves with her spatula. “Just give me a sec, the eggs are almost ready.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Gahyeon asks shyly.

“Not at all, everything’s already set! Have a seat at the table over there, I’ll bring everything over in a minute.”

“Okay,” Gahyeon sits at the kitchen table a little anxiously. The idea of someone cooking for her and not being able to help doesn’t sit well with her, but she does her best to push the anxiety away. Gahyeon watches as Minji plates the eggs onto two plates, takes two small bowls out of one of the cupboards and fills them with freshly cooked rice. She sprinkles what looks like salt and pepper onto the rice and heads over to the table, gently setting the plates and bowls down and running back to the drawers to grab some cutlery.

Minji passes Gahyeon a spoon, a fork, and a knife, and gently pushes a plate of eggs and one of the rice bowls in front of her.

“Thank you,” Gahyeon is oddly emotional; nobody has ever cared about her enough to just make her breakfast.

Minji beams. “You’re welcome! Enjoy!”

“I will!”

Gahyeon and Minji dig in. Minji’s eggs turn out to be extremely well-made omelettes, practically bursting with melted cheese, sliced tomato, and scallions. The rice is fantastic too, and Gahyeon devours it all.

“That was delicious,” Gahyeon praises after she finishes her food. “Thank you.”

Minji smiles again, eyes crinkling. “It’s my pleasure. Are you ready to get going?”

Gahyeon nods, excitement beginning to bubble up in her stomach. “I’m ready when you are!”

“Great! Let’s just put the dishes in the dishwasher, and then we’ll head out.”

Minji shows Gahyeon where the dishwasher is located next to the sink, and Gahyeon quickly helps her load their dishes inside.

“Let’s go!” Minji walks back into the den and Gahyeon follows. “I’d invite Yoohyeon to come with us, but she looks a little occupied,” she says with a laugh.

Yoohyeon is currently leaning as close to the TV as she can thumbs and forefingers blurring over her controller, practically shouting into her mic.

“Does she always get so into it?” Gahyeon asks, suppressing a laugh.

“Only when she’s playing PUBG or Overwatch. She’s a very avid gamer,” Minji answers, a fond smile on her lips.

She checks her watch. “Shit, we’re gonna be late. We gotta get going!”

She grabs a set of keys from a small bowl by the threshold to the hallway leading out of the apartment, picks up a light brown leather jacket draped over the couch, and heads out the door. Gahyeon follows, locking the door behind her.

The two vampires make their way down the stairs and out the back entrance of Dreamcatcher. Minji unlocks the SUV and they get in, closing the door and putting on their seatbelts. As Minji pulls out of the tiny parking lot, she switches on the radio.

“Is it okay if we listen to music? I love to sing along while I drive.”

“Of course!” Gahyeon replies, slightly confused. She doesn’t know why Minji would feel then need to ask permission to turn the radio on in her own car.

Minji cheers and adjusts the station until she finds the one she’s looking for.

“It won’t be a long drive, by the way,” Minji says over the music. “Maybe twenty minutes, max.”

“Okay, no problem!”

Minji grins and starts singing along to the radio. Gahyeon glances at the display; the song is called Umpah Umpah, which strikes her as a bit of a strange song title, but as it continues, she finds herself bopping along in her seat.

The lack of conversation doesn’t make Gahyeon uncomfortable, which is nice. She’s always been pressured to carry on a conversation for as long as possible at the palace, but Minji’s presence is steady and reassuring, and the sound of her singing along to the music is oddly comforting.

As they drive towards the more urban area of Polaris, Gahyeon presses her face against the window, watching the streets blur past. Anticipation is mounting in her belly; she can’t wait to get her Dreamcatcher tattoo and officially be part of the little clan; to belong to something that isn’t Starsight’s royal family.

After a short while, Minji turns into a strip mall and parks the car.

“Are you ready?” She asks.

“More than ready,” Gahyeon replies, confident.

“All right,” Minji gets out of the car, “Let’s go!”

Gahyeon exits the car, closing the door behind her, and follows Minji towards the mall. One of the giant signs above the entrances says “This Month’s Tattoo,” and it’s towards this shop that Minji leads them. The sign is clean, bright and welcoming, and as they open the door and go inside, Gahyeon notes that the parlor itself is too.

The floor is clean and shiny, and the walls are covered with papers detailing gorgeous tattoo designs. There are several black leather recliners that look like dentist chairs along the walls. Gahyeon takes it all in, her heart beginning to race with anticipation.

A door at the opposite end of the room opens and a girl comes out, smiling widely. She’s wearing a black baseball cap with piercings through the brim over her long black hair, black skinny jeans, and a black t-shirt covered by a red and black plaid flannel.

“Minji! You’re right on time!”

“Hey, Jinsol!” Minji grins at the girl. “You finally dyed your hair black, thank _god_.”

Jinsol throws her head back and laughs, and Gahyeon can’t help but admire the length and slenderness of her neck and her wide, open smile.

“I know, right?” She reaches up and touches the black strands of hair, letting them fall through her fingers. “My scalp was halfway to the grave and my hair wasn’t far behind, so I figured it was time to give my them a break.”

“How did Jungeun take it?” Minji asks, suppressing a laugh.

“Not gonna lie, she was happier about it than I was.” Jinsol says sheepishly.

“That doesn’t surprise me.” Minji shakes her head, smiling. “Also! Jinsol, this is Gahyeon, your victim for the day.”

Jinsol’s smile brightens. “Hey, Gahyeon! It’s nice to meet you!”

Gahyeon smiles shyly. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

“Don’t worry about Minji,” Jinsol winks. “She’s just teasing. You’ll be just fine.”

Gahyeon’s shoulders relax a little; Jinsol’s reassurance and easy-going demeanor has helped ease her nerves.

Jinsol gestures at the black chair closest to the back of the parlor. “Have a seat over there, okay? I just have to print your stencil, everything else is ready.”

“Okay,” Gahyeon walks over to the chair and climbs on top, leaning back against the soft leather.

Jinsol waves and heads back into the room she had made her entrance from. Minji grabs a spare stool by one of the chairs and brings it next to Gahyeon’s chair.

“How’re you feeling?” Minji asks as she sits on the stool.

Gahyeon tilts her head to the side. “Excited, but a little nervous. I’ve never gotten a tattoo before; does it hurt a lot?”

Minji shakes her head. “It depends on where you get it, but it mostly just feels like very intense pins-and-needles.”

“I – “

Gahyeon is cut off by Jinsol’s return. She’s put on a set of round glasses and is carrying a sheet of paper with the image of Dreamcatcher’s logo printed on it.

“Okay,” Jinsol says, placing the stencil down on the little tray next to Gahyeon’s chair. “Where would you like your tattoo?”

Gahyeon’s mind goes blank; she has no clue.

“Where do people normally get it?” She asks, brow furrowing.

“Technically, you can get it anywhere, but most people get it somewhere on their arms, since it’s easiest to show for identification,” Jinsol replies, peeling off her flannel to reveal a stunning full sleeve on her right arm, and several small tattoos decorating her left.

“Wow,” Gahyeon breathes, eyes wide. “They’re beautiful!”

Jinsol smiles bashfully. “Thank you!”

She shows Gahyeon her left inner forearm; a gorgeous tattoo of a moon with twelve small comets orbiting around it sits in the middle of her forearm. The moon is shaded to look incredibly realistic, and each comet is a different colour.

“This is my clan’s symbol! It’s a little bigger than most, so we had to get it in the middle of our forearms.” Jinsol shrugs. “But from what I remember, most of Dreamcatcher has theirs on their inner wrist, right?” She directs the question at Minji, looking up at her from under the brim of her hat.

“Yeah,” Minji nods. “Siyeon’s is on her right ankle, though. It really depends on your preference.”

“Can I see yours again?” Gahyeon asks.

“Sure!” Minji rolls up her right sleeve and shows Gahyeon her tattoo.

The symbol isn’t as big as Jinsol’s, and the closer she looks at it, the more it clicks in the back of her mind.

_This looks right._

Mind made up, Gahyeon takes a deep breath. “Can I get it like Minji’s?”

“Of course! Just give me one second!”

Jinsol grabs a pair of scissors from the little tray and cuts out the logo. She carefully places it on the inner wrist of Gahyeon’s right arm.

“How does this look?”

Gahyeon looks and the sense of rightness increases. A small smile pulls at her lips.

“It looks perfect.”

“Awesome! Let me set the stencil and then we’ll get started.”

Jinsol pulls on a pair of rubber gloves, takes a cloth from the tray and sprays it with fluid from a spray bottle.

“I’m just going to rub this on your wrist, okay? This will let the stencil transfer into your skin so I can tattoo it.”

Jinsol’s voice is low and soothing, and Gahyeon very much appreciates the narration.

“Go for it.”

Jinsol gently rubs the cloth on her wrist for a moment and sets it aside. She picks up the stencil and places it on Gahyeon’s wrist, matching the placement with Minji’s tattoo exactly. Jinsol waits for a moment and then slowly peels the stencil off. Dreamcatcher’s logo glints on Gahyeon’s skin in printer ink.

“Does it look okay?” Jinsol asks, setting the paper aside. “Are you happy with the placement?”

It looks pretty fucking cool, Gahyeon thinks.

“It looks awesome,” Gahyeon admits, a bit of giddiness rising in her chest.

Jinsol beams. “Perfect! I’m just going to load my gun and then we’ll get going.”

Jinsol turns over to the tray and opens a sealed package of tattoo needles. Gahyeon winces as she takes them in, but when Jinsol inserts them into the tattoo gun curled over the tray, she realizes that she won’t be able to see them move anyway.

Jinsol sits down on her stool and pulls a small stand out from behind Gahyeon’s chair. It’s wrapped in plastic, and Jinsol sprays it with some sterilizer before gently picking up Gahyeon’s forearm and laying it face up on the plastic. She wraps the wire of the tattoo around her neck, gripping the gun firmly.

“Are you ready?”

“Definitely,” Gahyeon says, the anticipation beginning to flood her veins.

“Do you want me to hold your other hand?” Minji smiles softly. “Just in case you need to squeeze?”

Gahyeon flushes, heart swelling with affection for Minji. “That would be great,” she says shyly.

Minji reaches out and links their fingers, squeezing once. Gahyeon squeezes back, Minji’s touch grounding her and calming her nerves. Gahyeon nods at Jinsol, who adjusts her cap with one hand, leans forward, and taps the pedal next to her feet. The air is filled with a dull buzzing, like what she imagines a hundred angry bees on the warpath would sound like. Jinsol positions her gun over Gahyeon’s wrist and touches it to her skin at the bottom of the stencil.

Gahyeon can’t help but flinch at the sharp sting of it, reflexively tightening her grip on Minji’s hand. Minji squeezes back reassuringly. Jinsol moves the gun slowly back and forth over the stencil, eyebrows crinkled with concentration. She looks like she’s focusing so hard that Gahyeon can’t help but be surprised when she starts talking.

“You’re doing really well, Gahyeon, just keep still for me, okay? If the pain gets to be too much, let me know and we’ll take a break.”

“Okay, I will.” Gahyeon’s voice is a little strained from the pain of the little needles punching through her skin, but it’s nothing compared to the agony she’s experienced in the past.

“Welcome to the fold, by the way,” Jinsol continues, carefully moving the gun over Gahyeon’s skin. “And welcome to Dreamcatcher! You’ve landed yourself with some of the best of the best.”

Jinsol lifts the gun for a moment so she can look up at Gahyeon and smile earnestly.

“Thank you,” Gahyeon says gratefully. “I’ve only knows them for a short while but they’ve already done so much for me, I can’t even begin to thank them.”

Jinsol chuckles, lowering the gun back to Gahyeon’s wrist.

“That doesn’t surprise me. They’re something else, that’s for sure.”

Next to Gahyeon, Minji laughs and gently strokes her thumb over the skin of her hand.

“There are worse people to be stuck in a region in the middle of nowhere for.” Jinsol dips the gun into a little cap of black in on the tray and rubs the excess ink on Gahyeon’s arm off with a cloth.

“What do you mean?”

“I work for Twice, the clan in charge of policing vampires and keeping peace between the clans,” Jinsol explains, returning the gun to Gahyeon’s skin. “Most vampire tattoo artists do. They send us wherever the clans are; usually one or two artists per area, in order to tattoo any new vampires that might be turned. The vampires are then officially registered with the clan that they’ve been turned by, or that they’ve fallen in with.”

She moves the gun over a particularly sensitive area, and Gahyeon winces.

“I was working with my girlfriend, Jungeun, at her tattoo shop in Seoul, but when Minji applied to bring Dreamcatcher here to Starsight, I was assigned to come with them and be the tattoo artist for the area for the three-year required rotation period. I basically have to stay here as long as you guys do, just in case a new vampire is turned. Or until my rotation is up and someone comes to switch me.”

“Wow,” Gahyeon says softly. “It must be really hard to be away from your girlfriend for so long.”

“It is,” Jinsol’s voice gets a little rough. “It’s been almost half a year since I’ve seen her in person. We get short vacations every few months or so, but it’s never enough.” She sighs deeply.

“That’s awful, I’m sorry.” Gahyeon’s heart aches with sympathy.

Jinsol shakes her head slightly. “Don’t be. I really do love my job, and Polaris is nice and quiet. It would be perfect if Jungeun were here. But my rotation will be over in five months or so, and then I can go back to Seoul to be with her until I get called for a new placement.”

“How long would that take?” Gahyeon asks curiously.

“I’m not sure,” Jinsol admits. “But I get a long-ass vacation before they can send me to a new place, so I’ll spend it with Jungeun and then stay with her until Twice contacts me with the new placement.”

Jinsol stops tattooing and wipes Gahyeon’s arm again.

“And, we’re done!” Jinsol taps the pedal at her feet and the buzzing of the gun is silenced.

“That was so fast!” Gahyeon says, surprised, unlinking her and Minji’s fingers.

Jinsol laughs. “Time flies when you’re having fun.” She peels off her gloves and throws them into a small bucket on the tray next to her. “Conversation helps it go by pretty quickly too. What do you think?”

Gahyeon looks down at her wrist. The double crescent moon and radiating lines are identical to Minji’s tattoo. The black ink is extremely vivid, and the surrounding skin is slightly reddened and aching, and Gahyeon fucking _loves_ it. Elation trickles down her spine and she can’t hold back her grin. This is the official start of her new beginning, and she has to blink back tears of happiness and relief.

“It’s perfect,” Gahyeon breathes. “Thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome!” Jinsol smiles, teeth flashing. “I’m just gonna wrap it for you, give me a sec.”

Jinsol leans down to the bottom tray and pulls out a roll of cling wrap. She pulls off a long piece, lifts Gahyeon’s arm, and carefully wraps it up, covering the new tattoo. Jinsol tears off a piece of scotch tape from a little dispenser on the tray and tapes it closed.

“There you go!” Jinsol stands up. “You can take the wrap off in a few hours; just make sure not to wash it with scented soap or scratch it once it starts peeling. And try not to sweat a lot in that area, or swim until it’s healed. It’ll only take a few days; vampire healing comes in handy.”

Gahyeon files the information away and rises.

“Sounds great, thank you so much again!”

“It was my pleasure. Feel free to come back if you ever want a regular tattoo!”

Gahyeon laughs. “I will!”

“Thanks, Jinsol,” Minji speaks up, smiling softly. “Can you let me know when Gahyeon’s registration goes through?”

“Of course!” Jinsol nods vigorously. “It should only take a couple hours; I’ll text you when I hear back from Chaeyoung.”

“Perfect!” Minji embraces Jinsol. “Come by the bar when you get a chance, the girls and I would love to catch up with you.”

Jinsol grins. “I definitely will, I’d love that.”

To Gahyeon’s surprise, Jinsol gives her a hug too.

“It was really nice to meet you,” she says.

Gahyeon hugs her back, warmth suffusing her chest.

“It was nice to meet you too!”

Jinsol releases Gahyeon and steps back, letting Minji and Gahyeon head towards the door. She waves enthusiastically as they leave.

“See you around,” Jinsol calls, before turning back and heading into the little office at the back.

Gahyeon and Minji walk back to the SUV. Minji unlocks it and Gahyeon opens her door with her left hand, worried about aggravating her new tattoo. She climbs inside and awkwardly buckles her seatbelt with her left hand. Minji gets in and starts the car, quickly turning down the radio when it powers up.

“Are you doing okay?” She asks, looking at Gahyeon with concern.

Gahyeon doesn’t even need to think about her answer. “Yeah, thank you!”

As Minji pulls out of the parking lot and starts driving towards Dreamcatcher, she continues, “Jinsol is so cool! Her tattoos are amazing, and she was so nice and patient. She really helped make me feel less nervous.”

Minji chuckles. “She is pretty cool,” she agrees. “And I’m glad! She’s very good with people. She’s a water elementalist, but I’ve always sworn there’s a little bit of jack in her, with how good she is at reading people’s emotions and soothing them.”

Gahyeon hums.

After a moment of comfortable silence, Minji turns up the radio, bopping her head to the music. This one is called Devil, and it’s fantastic; Gahyeon can’t help but jam along a little in her seat. Over the course of the ride home, Gahyeon alternates between looking at her wrapped wrist and out the window.

As she recounts the events of the last two days in her head, her heart swells and expands with affection and appreciation at everything Dreamcatcher has done for her in such a short span of time. They’ve opened their hearts and home to her, and showered her with love and care, even though they’re still practically strangers. She’s been through hell and back and proven herself to be stronger than she ever though she could be. And as Minji pulls up to the tiny parking lot behind Dreamcatcher, Gahyeon decides she’s ready to give something back.

“Minji?” Gahyeon starts hesitantly.

Minji looks at Gahyeon, and seeing the apprehensive expression on her face, quickly turns off the radio and parks the car.

“Yeah?” She asks, meeting Gahyeon’s eyes.

“I think… I think I’m ready to tell you guys what happened to me. Would that be okay?”

Minji’s eyes widen. “Of course!” She pauses for a moment before continuing, “Are you sure you’re ready?”

Gahyeon nods. Her mind is made up.

“Okay,” Minji squeezes her shoulder. “Let’s go up, and you can tell us whatever you’re willing to share.”

“Okay,” Gahyeon whispers.

She gets out of the SUV, closing the door behind her, and Minji does the same. Minji unlocks the back door and the two vampires head upstairs to the apartment.

They’re greeted by a whole mess of shouting and laughter. Bora, Siyeon, Handong, Yoohyeon and Yoobin are all huddled together on the couch in various positions, playing what looks to be a very intense match of Smash.

The girls are shoving each other with their shoulders and screaming and swearing in an attempt to distract each other. Gahyeon snorts and sits down on the couch next to Bora. She immediately regrets all her life choices because Bora is now screeching at the top of her lungs right next to her head.

She winces and shifts away slightly, and keeping her eyes on the game. She can’t tell who’s playing who, but over the course of the next five minutes or so, the characters are eliminated until only one is left, and Yoohyeon whoops in victory.

The other girls grumble good-naturedly, before turning their attention to Minji and Gahyeon.

“Hey, guys!” Bora is shouting again and Gahyeon flinches. “How did it go?”

Gahyeon smiles. “It went well!” She holds out her wrapped wrist. “Jinsol did such a good job.”

“Jinsol’s the best,” Yoobin’s voice is a little hoarse from all the shouting. “Everything she touches turns to pure art, it’s amazing.”

Gahyeon looks at the faces of the six vampires around her and takes a deep breath. She’s ready to tell them.

“Um,” Gahyeon starts hesitantly. “Would it be okay if I told you guys what happened to me?”

Yoohyeon’s eyebrows shoot up. “Of course, it’s okay! You don’t even have to ask. We’re here to listen.”

Bora wraps her arm around Gahyeon’s shoulders, and the others nod their support, looking at Gahyeon with affection and care in their eyes. Handong leans against Yoobin’s chest so she can face her, and Minji sits down on Gahyeon’s other side.

“Whenever you’re ready,” Minji says, “We’re ready to listen.”

Gahyeon closes her eyes and tries to calm her thundering, aching heart. This is going to be one of the hardest things she’s ever done, especially since she’s never spoken to anyone about it before. It’s been her deepest secret her whole life, and she faces the idea of baring it with a mix of trepidation, fear, and determination. She steels herself, opens her eyes, and begins to speak.

“So, as I’m sure you guys know, I’m the princess of Starsight. The royal family looks really great on the outside; the palace is gorgeous; my parents are good rulers and have a great relationship with the citizens. On the inside, though, everything is _rotten_.”

Gahyeon shudders, tears pricking at her eyes. “My father has beaten and abused me my entire life. He hates me with everything he has, and he’s never been afraid to show it. My mother is a coward who stands by and says nothing. The royal court knows and has never once stood up for me, and the guards sit back and just let it all happen.”

Gahyeon’s tears fill her eyes, and when she reaches up to clear them from her vision, she sees all of Dreamcatcher looking at her with a mix of empathy and shock.

“Oh, Gahyeon,” Bora envelops Gahyeon in a hug, pressing her lips to her temple as Gahyeon’s shoulders shake.

Gahyeon closes her eyes again, soaking up Bora’s comfort, and doing her best to push the horrible memories down. Once her breathing has somewhat returned to normal, she lifts her head, opening her eyes, and Bora loosens her embrace.

“I was born out of wedlock,” Gahyeon sniffles, voice shaky as she continues. “My mother cheated on my father with his brother. When the king found out, he killed his brother, and he’s despised my existence ever since. I had to wear rags in private, sleep on the floor of the servants’ quarters, and endure his constant beatings. I thought I would have to suffer for the rest of my life, but then the king found a prince of a nearby region who wanted to marry me.”

Gahyeon wipes her tears with her sleeve.

“He must’ve seen me at one of the court events, when I was dressed up and allowed to cover my bruises with makeup. The king was desperate to get rid of me and earn something in exchange for my sorry existence, so he agreed to the prince’s betrothal on my behalf. I thought I was going to be rid of him forever. But then three days ago, the prince’s family requested a birth certificate to confirm my legitimacy, which obviously couldn’t be provided. And that was the last straw.”

“I was useless to him after that, so he dragged me out of the palace by my hair and beat me with the steel head of his walking cane. He kicked me and spat on me, and when he was finished, he left me there to die.”

Gahyeon’s voice cracks and she takes a deep breath to steady herself.

“I knew that was it. I could barely think past the pain, but I knew I had to escape and get away, or else I’d die on the grass in the palace courtyard, and nobody would care. I was just so _angry_ at the unjustness of it all, and I was so determined to get away. If I was going to die, I was desperate for it not to be there. I was burning inside and I managed to get up and run away. And that’s when Bora and Siyeon found me.”

Gahyeon looks up, and all six vampires’ eyes are glowing with fury on her behalf. They all get up and approach her, wrapping their arms around her as much as they can, and holding her tight.

Gahyeon breaks then, because she can’t possibly hold her pain in any longer, dissolving into sobs in the girls’ arms. They stroke her hair and wipe her tears and squeeze her tight and gods, Gahyeon can’t breathe because she’s never been this loved and cared for in her life and it’s one of the most surreal things she’s ever experienced.

They hold her and comfort her until her tears subside and the shaking of her shoulders slows. Someone passes her tissues and helps her dry her tears, and the girls slowly withdraw back to their previous positions on the couch.

“Gahyeon,” Minji’s voice is raw with emotion. “I’m so, _so_ sorry you had to go through that.”

“Is there any way we can help you to get closure?” Yoohyeon asks, eyes rimmed with red.

Gahyeon pauses. She thinks of everything the king and the court have put her through: the agony, the abuse, the gaslighting, the torture – both emotional and physical, - the lack of love and affection from the very people who were supposed to provide her with it. She thinks of the helplessness she’s suffered from her entire life, and burning heat begins to bubble up from deep inside her chest. The anger, the fury, the injustice, the cruelty, the unfairness of it all sears her veins, and fills her until it feels like she might disintegrate into ashes from it all, and suddenly, she knows what she wants.

“I want them to suffer like I did. I want to ruin them, the way they ruined me.” Gahyeon’s voice comes out in a soft whisper, but the depth of how much she means it shakes her to her core. “I want to destroy them all, so they can never hurt me or anyone else ever again.”

Minji inhales softly next to her, shocked. She takes a breath, possibly to tell Gahyeon off or ban her from her doorstep, when her phone goes off with that song Devil that had been on the radio earlier.

Minji’s eyes widen.

“Shit, it’s Seungyeon.” She scrambles to her feet. “I’m sorry, Gahyeon, I’ll be right back. I have to take this.”

Minji rushes out of the apartment, closing the door behind her. The six vampires sit together on the couch in silence, Bora still holding Gahyeon’s hand and gently stroking her skin with her thumb.

“I’m in,” Bora says, and Gahyeon is so surprised, she nearly drops Bora’s hand.

Before she has a chance to reply, the front door bursts open and Minji comes rushing back in, face pale and harried.

“What happened?” Yoohyeon asks, twisting on the couch to face Minji.

“Seungyeon was calling from Twice’s headquarters.” Minji says, stunned and breathless. “We’re being summoned back to Seoul.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also just want to let you guys know that the updates are gonna be a little more infrequent for the next few weeks, due to the craziness of the high holidays and school combined. I apologize for future delays; I'll do my best to keep to the weekly posts as much as I can, so please look forward to them! If you're interested in updates, I often tweet about the writing process as I write, and I do polls about character cameos and future planned fics, so if you'd like to keep up with my progress and all that, please feel free to follow me @twiceasbriight! 
> 
> See ya in the next one!


	7. However Long the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! I know it's been ages, and I'm so, so sorry for the hiatus - things have been crazy with the high holidays finishing and my family bring in from out of town, and the semester starting to wind down, but I should be back to semi-regular updates until the semester finishes and i'm free to write as much as I want! This chapter and the next few won't be as long as the others, likely until the last two, because that's when the action is really going to happen, but I hope you enjoy them in the meantime!

Before Siyeon can even begin process Minji’s words, the den erupts into chaos.

“_What?” _Bora leaps to her feet.

And that’s the catalyst that triggers a whole mess of shouting from the other vampires. Siyeon sits in stunned silence, looking up at Minji. As the sound of Bora pestering Minji for details and Handong and Yoohyeon’s protests hits Siyeon’s ears, panic and fear begin clawing their way through her chest and she nearly chokes on the burst of fear closing her throat.

_Back? What if they find us? What if they - _

Terror explodes in Siyeon’s lungs like a starburst and she squeezes her eyes shut, pressing her lips together tightly and digging her nails into her palms to avoid falling back into the nightmare she’d been trapped in earlier this morning.

As Siyeon does her best to regulate her breathing, Minji finally gives up on quietly fielding Bora, Yoohyeon and Handong’s questions.

“_Yah_!”

Bora and Yoohyeon are closest to Minji and they flinch away, wincing. Minji pinches the bridge of her nose, emotion swirling in her eyes.

“I’m trying to process this, too.” Frustration leaks from Minji’s voice.

Yoohyeon approaches her cautiously and cups her jaw in her hands.

“Breathe, baby,” Yoohyeon says quietly, stroking Minji’s cheekbones with her thumbs.

Minji closes her eyes and takes a slow, deep breath, and her shoulders visibly relax. She opens her eyes, looking up at her girlfriend and smiles softly. Yoohyeon smiles back and tugs Minji down to sit on the couch next to her.

“Okay,” Minji takes another big breath. “Jihyo and Jeongyeon chose us for some sort of urgent mission, and they need us to clear out of here and get back to Seoul as soon as we can. Seungyeon didn’t give me a lot of details, she just said that they chose us because of our anonymity in the Masquerade, and because we have some kind of personal stake in whatever the mission is for.” Minji tucks her phone in her pocket and leans back against Yoohyeon.

_A mission?_

Confusion rises behind Siyeon’s burgeoning panic, calming it slightly.

_What could they possibly want us for?_

The others look similarly stumped.

“Will we be leaving for good?” Handong’s voice breaks through the stunned silence, cracking a little with emotion.

_Oh, Dongie. _

Siyeon’s heart aches with sympathy. She and Handong have always been the most afraid of big, life-altering change, due to the events leading up to them being turned.

Minji nods. “I’ll ask for more details when Seungyeon calls me back, but that was the implication, yeah.”

Handong inhales sharply, blinking back tears.

“Okay,” she says quietly.

All of a sudden, Minji’s phone goes off again, this time with text notifications. She pulls it out of her pocket, glancing at the display. Her eyes widen.

“Seungyeon’s texting with details, give me a minute.”

As Minji begins to type, Bora makes her way around the couch to where Siyeon is and sits behind her. Bora’s arms encircle her waist and pull her against her chest. Her thumbs stroke idly at Siyeon’s stomach over her shirt, and the comfort of the gentle sensation gradually overtakes what’s left of her fear.

“Okay,” Minji slides her phone back into her pocket. “Seungyeon is going to fly us out to Seoul five days from now. While we start packing up and getting ready to move, Sorn and Yeeun are going to find someone to buy the bar from us. Seungyeon said we have to completely erase our presence from Starsight before we leave.”

Minji leans forward slightly, arms folded across her thighs and looks around at her fellow clan-members.

“Honestly, I’m just as shaken by this as you guys are. We’ve worked really, _really_ hard to build a life here after everything that’s happened, and we’ve done so well for ourselves. The fact that we have to suddenly leave it all behind for a mission we don’t know anything about doesn’t sit well with me.”

Siyeon raises her eyebrows a little, surprised. It’s not often that Minji reveals how she feels about things that upset her, but then again, this isn’t a particularly conventional situation. Although Siyeon knows that Minji isn’t always as unshakeable as she tries to seem, the reminder is comforting.

“On the other hand, it’s a chance for us to do some good outside of beating up the creeps who frequent the bar,” Yubin speaks up. “Whatever this mission is, it has to be really important for them to pull us out of here like this. I’m not super happy about the circumstances, but we could end up helping a lot of people.”

“That’s true!” Bora’s voice has regained its perky enthusiasm. “This could end up being something really good.”

“And Seungyeon did say that some of us have a personal stake in this,” Yoohyeon points out. “Aside from getting to do something important, we’re going to benefit from this somehow too.”

_Those are good points_, Siyeon thinks.

Hope begins to stir in her chest.

_Maybe this won’t be so bad._

“It does also leave us free to help Gahyeon kill the royal family,” Minji muses, a twinkle sparkling in her eyes and a smile beginning to tug at her lips. “We’d just have to make our escape to Seoul right after.”

Gahyeon gasps and turns at breakneck speed to face Minji, lips parted in surprise.

“I _– thank you_. I didn’t think you’d actually agree.”

Siyeon’s heart cracks a little for the wide-eyed vampire next to her.

“Of course, we’d agree,” Siyeon says firmly, and she’s not even surprised at how much she knows her words to be true. She’s witnessed the results of the king’s brutality and Gahyeon’s suffering with her own eyes, and she’ll be damned before she lets the king and anyone involved get away with it. “They don’t deserve to walk the earth after what they did to you.”

Bora presses her lips to Siyeon’s hair, and she can feel Bora’s smile against the back of her head, and Siyeon’s chest blooms with warmth.

Yubin, Yoohyeon and Handong nod their agreement, eyes intense with determination.

“We’ve got you,” Yubin says, squeezing Gahyeon’s shoulder.

Handong shifts and leaps onto Gahyeon’s other shoulder, nuzzling into her neck. Gahyeon reaches up and scratches behind Handong’s ears. Handong begins to purr, and then the soft sound is suddenly drowned out by the doorbell ringing.

Yoohyeon leaps off the couch to answer it, shouting, “Lunch is here!”

Siyeon grins as the room erupts into cheers.

**~ * ~ * ~ * ~**

“I’m sorry I jumped for Minji,” Bora shifts so she’s facing Siyeon, her voice filled with remorse. “I know how hard that was for you, I should’ve run straight to you instead.”

They’re alone in their room now, decompressing and processing Seungyeon’s call and what’s been commanded of them.

Siyeon frowns and tilts her head down slightly to meet Bora’s eyes.

“Bora,” Siyeon chides gently, reaching out to tuck a lock of her girlfriend’s hair behind her ear. “You have nothing to apologize for. None of us could’ve expected _any_ of that.”

Bora sighs. “I know, it’s just… I know it was a lot for you, especially after this morning.”

“Yeah, I – I shouldn’t be this afraid to get back,” Siyeon sighs, pressing down on the bolt of panic threatening to lance at her chest at the thought of it. “I know I shouldn’t. It’s been years, and I’m _different_ and confident and powerful, but I can’t help it.” Her voice trails off and she looks down, twisting her fingers together.

Bora inhales sharply, like she’s been kicked in the stomach, eyes shining with empathy and pain. She leans in so their foreheads are touching and Siyeon closes her eyes, reveling in the comfort of Bora’s touch.

“It’s okay,” Bora’s voice shakes almost imperceptibly. “I just wish I could take it all away for you.”

Love and affection swell in Siyeon’s chest, and a soft smile curls at the edges of her lips. She opens her eyes.

“You do everything you can,” Siyeon wraps her arms around Bora, tugging her closer. “And it’s more than enough.”

Bora settles against Siyeon, tucking her head into her neck.

“I love you so much,” Bora breathes, snuggling closer into Siyeon.

“I love you, too.”

Siyeon leans down and presses her lips to the crown of Bora’s head, reaching to tangle her fingers in Bora’s long, black hair.

“Singnie,” Bora shifts so she and Siyeon are face-to-face, a smile twitching at her lips and teasing lilt leaking through her voice. “You missed.”

Siyeon blinks in confusion and then Bora’s leaning in, smiling almost _too_ widely to kiss Siyeon’s lips, and Siyeon snorts through her nose, because it took her a moment but she gets it, and because her lips are suddenly very occupied.

It’s a soft, sweet kiss, and warmth kindles in Siyeon’s veins at Bora’s gentle care and affection.

Bora breaks the kiss, leaning back so she can look at Siyeon properly. A spark of heat glimmers behind Bora’s warm, brown eyes, and Siyeon’s chest stirs in response, a blush beginning to curl up her cheeks at Bora’s gaze.

“Is there anything I can do for you now?” Bora’s still teasing, but the question is a sincere one.

Siyeon finds herself matching Bora’s grin, playfulness rising to taste sweet on her tongue and tingle at the back of her brain.

“A distraction would be nice,” she muses, eyes glued to the Cupid’s bow of Bora’s lips.

Bora grins.

“_Really_?” Bora teases huskily.

Siyeon nods rapidly, the change in Bora’s voice sending want thrumming through her veins, and she knows Bora feels it because she sucks in a breath and her lips part and her pupils dilate, and _God,_ Bora touching her is all she can think about.

Siyeon leans forward to kiss her again, but Bora edges back, pressing her forefinger to Siyeon’s lips.

“Ah-ah,” Bora says with a smile, and Siyeon freezes in place. “What kind of distraction would you like, baby?”

The sudden tension in Siyeon’s shoulders melts, because Bora’s checking to see what she wants, how far she wants to go, how far she’s _okay_ with going, and her eyes prick with tears at Bora’s thoughtfulness and care. She blinks back the tears and cocks an eyebrow, tilting her head in the way she knows Bora likes, highlighting the sharp curve of her jawline and is rewarded when Bora’s breath hitches in her throat.

“My favourite kind,” Siyeon breathes, lips brushing Bora’s finger.

She’s absurdly tempted to just take Bora’s finger in her mouth and _suck_, but Bora smirks wickedly and pulls away before she can try, backing up to the edge of the bed.

Bora hums, rising on her knees.

“And what will you do for me in return?” She tosses her hair back, revealing the long, pale expanse of her neck. She teases at the buttons of her shirt with her long fingers and starts slowly unbuttoning it, exposing the deep purple lace of her bra. She sinks her teeth into her lower lip, not breaking eye contact, and Siyeon nearly chokes on air.

“Whatever you tell me to,” Siyeon’s eyes are wide and she’s breathing hard despite the fact that Bora hasn’t even touched her yet, and she knows she’s said the right thing because she can _feel_ Bora slipping into siren as she lets her shirt pool by her knees, eyes blackening, and her lazy smirk pulling wider.

“Are you sure?”

Bora’s never needed siren to seduce her, and she doesn’t use it very often in bed, but, _Christ_, her already-magnetic pull intensifies to a dizzying degree, the vanilla of her scent seeping into her bones and Siyeon is _drunk_ with want, heat curling in her belly and down her spine and up her cheekbones, and she can’t think past _BoraBoraBoraBora _and how desperate she is for Bora’s touch, and it’s fucking glorious. 

Siyeon nods desperately, breath hitching in her throat as Bora fluidly approaches her, crawling towards her on the bed on all fours, and Siyeon greedily rakes her gaze down from the curve of her prominent collarbone, how intoxicatingly good Bora’s breasts look in that bra, and the defined ridges of her abdomen as they flex and shift as she moves towards her.

“_Such_ a good girl for me,” Bora purrs, and she leans in to Siyeon’s neck, inhaling deeply as she traces the map of her veins with her very tip of her nose.

Siyeon whimpers at the barely-there contact, head falling back instinctively to give Bora easier access, and is rewarded by Bora scraping her fangs down her carotid artery and sucking a mark into her pulse-point, and _fuck_, Siyeon’s eyes roll back in her head and she pulls Bora in closer, the fire burning through her veins flaring and she can’t think, she needs more_, please._

Bora mouths hot, wet kisses down Siyeon’s neck and tears open her shirt with fingers that are just barely shaking, and by the time she reaches Siyeon’s breasts and continues further down, Siyeon, dizzy with desperation and drunk on desire and pleasure and _Bora_, has already forgotten the outside world exists and that this morning even happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're interested in updates, I often tweet about the writing process as I write, and I do polls about character cameos and future planned fics, so if you'd like to keep up with my progress and all that, please feel free to follow me @twiceasbriight!
> 
> See ya in the next one!


	8. I'll draw you in my dreams every day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! I know it's been months, and I'm so sorry for the delay, things have been crazy with school and life, and I've had a really hard time just sitting down and letting the words flow. I'm sorry that the chapter isn't very long; this chapter is meant to focus on dialogue between Minji and Gahyeon about the girls' backstories. Hopefully chapter 9 will be much longer!
> 
> It's been a while, but I hope the backstory content makes up for the lack of updates. Enjoy!

“I think it’s time we tell you how we ended up here,” Minji says suddenly.

Gahyeon perks up. They’re relaxing on the couch, watching Yoohyeon play Overwatch. They’ve just returned from the mall, where they’d bought some much-needed clothes and toiletries for Gahyeon.

Gahyeon would never push Minji or the others for their story, but her curiosity has been piqued, and her imagination’s been running _wild_ over the last several days.

“I – okay,” Gahyeon turns to meet Minji’s gaze, eyes wide and eager.

“I wanted to wait till we had progressed a little further into your training, but our time here is running short, and I want you to know a little about what we’ll be walking into once we get to Seoul.”

Gahyeon frowns in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Minji takes a deep breath.

“Not all the clans are like ours,” She says. “Or like Twice, or Loona, Jinsol’s clan. There are a _lot_ of corrupt clans in the world, scattered and mixed in with the good ones. They have hundreds of members, and run all kinds of illegal operations; illegal both by the standards of human law, and by the Masquerade. They have vampires working as corrupt cops, crooked lawyers, and human traffickers, just to name a few.”

Minji’s looks down at the couch before continuing.

“One of the corrupt clans is called Vixx. It’s based in New York City, and it’s made up of some of the most evil, corrupt vampires in the world.”

Minji twists her fingers together, rubbing at one of the silver rings that decorate her hands.

"I don’t know who it was that turned me, whether it was a member of Vixx or another clan, but I was studying in New York three years ago, and I was turned and left for dead.”

“Somehow, I found myself at Vixx’s doorstep. They cleaned me up, and after I recovered, got me running errands for them in exchange for a steady supply of blood, and one of the smaller rooms in their building. As first, the errands seemed fairly innocent; they didn’t want me knowing what they were up to. It was mostly ensuring that shipments of blood were sent out to different vampire-run safehouses and nightclubs.”

“After about a year, their ‘errands’ turned into tasks that were far from legal. This was the first time I realized what kind of clan Vixx truly is, and who I’d gotten myself in league with.”

Minji’s voice trembles and her eyes glisten with unshed tears.

“They told me to bring in two girls who had been kidnapped from one of their nightclubs. They were meant to be brought to the leaders of Vixx to feed off, abuse, and kill. I was horrified, but they made it clear that my fate would be the same if I were to refuse. The girls were being kept in a cell in the basement of one of the safehouses. My bosses told me to keep them in the cell and scare them as much as I could over the course of a week, so that the taste of their blood would be enhanced by long-term exposure to adrenaline and fear.”

“I was horrified,” Minji shakes her head, eyes closing for a brief moment. “I nearly cried when I went to the safehouse to see them. They were huddled together, fresh from the beating that had been inflicted on them by whoever had brought them in, and frightened out of their minds. I took one look at them, and my heart shattered.”

“I had been with Vixx a year, and I up till then, I had still been fairly naïve. I couldn’t believe that the clan that had taken me and saved me could be _this_ rotten and corrupt, but the sight of Bora and Siyeon covered with bruises and blood, faced streaked with dirt and tears, made me realize what kind of vampires I was working for.”

Gahyeon’s stomach drops.

“_Bora and Siyeon?_”

Minji nods, and her tears finally escape and slip down her cheeks.

“I didn’t know until later, but they had been brought in a few days earlier and were being tortured separately. They’d just become a couple several months prior, and whoever brought them in thought the torture would be more intense if one of them were to be physically tortured and beaten while the second remained trapped and helpless in the cell and screamed for the other being tortured.”

“They chose Siyeon for the torture and for Bora to remain in the cell. Bora was out of her mind with fury. She beat at the bars of the cell with her fists and screamed her throat raw and bloody for Siyeon every time they took her. She begged them to take her instead, but they refused.”

_Dear gods. The nightmares._

Gahyeon’s heart cracks, anger simmering in her chest, begging to boil over. Her eyes well with tears and she clenches her fists, digging her nails into her palms. She’s all too familiar with torture.

“There was no way I was going to let the girls die,” Minji continues shakily. “I asked for their permission to be turned into vampires, and they agreed. I turned them both right away, and promised to escape with them and find us somewhere safe to go. While I waited for Bora and Siyeon to finish turning, I contacted Seunghee, one of the leaders of a clan called Crystal. She and I became friends during one of the Masquerade events held in New York several months prior. She agreed to secure us passage back to Seoul once Bora and Siyeon were ready.”

“After the week was up and Bora and Siyeon were due to be delivered to the leaders of Vixx, I drove us to one of Crystal’s hidden safehouses, and we picked up the plane tickets and passports that Seunghee had sent ahead for us. Once we got back to Seoul, she let us stay at Crystal’s headquarters and encouraged us to find a quiet place to recover and start rebuilding our lives. We stayed for a few weeks, trained, and explored our options, and we found Starsight. Being a small, quiet region out in the country with little access to technology, we decided it would be more than suitable.”

“Before we left, Seunghee and her girlfriend Seungyeon introduced us to two newly-turned, quiet vampires who they believed would fit in better with a smaller, more familial clan. Yubin and Handong had been through something similar to what Bora and Siyeon experienced, and they immediately settled in with us. We established Dreamcatcher as a new clan with Twice, and made it to Starsight. We’ve been here ever since.”

Minji’s voice trails off, hoarse and raw with emotion.

Gahyeon takes a deep breath, the anger at the injustice of what had been done to her clanmates slowly withdrawing into her bones.

“I – _gods_,” Gahyeon wipes her eyes. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you for sharing that with me. I appreciate your trust more than I can say.”

Minji smiles softly, reaching out to brush a stray tear from Gahyeon’s cheek.

“You don’t have to say anything, it’s okay.”

Gahyeon smiles back and leans back into the couch, mind racing. Her heart swells with admiration for Bora and Siyeon; they’d been through so much and become unbelievably strong, fierce, and powerful. She recalls the way they had taken out the squad of palace guards with apparent ease, and hope rises to join the admiration.

_Maybe one day I can be that strong too._

“So,” Minji props her head up on her hand. “We need to start working on our plan for the royal family. Whatever we decide to do to them aside, we need a way into the palace, and to have everyone all inside together somehow. Do you have anything in mind?”

Gahyeon grins.

“Fuck yeah, I do.”

Minji leans forward, focused and intense.

“Hit me with it.”

“So, I don’t know if you guys have been hearing all the noise coming from the palace lately, but the royal family is preparing to throw a ball to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Everyone’s going to be there.”

Minji tilts her head thoughtfully, a small smile on her lips.

“Interesting.”

“It’s not just a ball though,” Gahyeon continues. Her grin widens, eyes glinting with excitement and mischief.

“_It’s a masquerade.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your patience and understanding! I'm a little rusty, so I hope the quality of my writing hasn't downgraded too much. Please forgive me if it has, I'll do better next time, I promise! As we near the end of this story, I'm also starting to outline and plan some of my oneshots in my master thread that I posted on twitter on nye. Feel free to follow me on there @dreamofyooh for writing updates and gay panicking over dreamcatcher! Please note that I changed my @, so disregard my old @ in the the automatic note that appears underneath this one. Hopefully I'll be back soon with more Masquerade and dc content so please look forward to it!


	9. I'm an unbreakable diamond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm so, so sorry this took so long to write, I hope the wait was worth it! Just as a reminder, this chapter and the next one will be shorter chapters until we get to the last two, which is where the action will really happen! Enjoy!

“Yubin and I decided to switch roles for today,” Handong says as she sits down in the grass next to Yubin and across from Gahyeon.

Handong has spent most of the last two days in a mildly panicked haze, and did her best to suppress her fear and anxiety about the move and the mission by packing up her and Yubin’s room as meticulously as possible.

It hasn’t helped much, but the sight of the open field before her and the fresh air in her lungs is doing wonders for her nerves. The sight of her stunningly beautiful girlfriend sitting across from her with a soft smile on her lips as she watches Handong speak is rather helpful, too. Affection floods Handong’s chest as Yubin meets her gaze steadily and tilts her head to the side as if to say, _you got this._

It’s been a long time since Handong’s even had to recall her conversations with Yeeun about her air powers, but the memories return to her easily as she settles further into the soft grass and lets it run between her fingers.

“I know a bit more about air elementalists than Yubin does, so we figured I should take the lead. We have to make sure you’re as ready as possible for the masquerade, and for whatever mission we’re being sent on right after.” Handong begins, hugging her knees to her chest. “Minji mentioned Seungyeon sent her some extra details about the mission last night. She said it’s gonna have to do with some kind of infiltration, so you need to be as proficient with air as possible for the extra stealth advantage.”

Gahyeon’s eyes widen and she nods.

“Okay, that makes sense.”

“Air is an element that’s suited for the subtleties of combat,” Handong continues. “That might be why I like it so much, since I’ve had to figure out subtle ways to adapt my cat form for combat.”

Gahyeon tilts her head to the side.

“How?” She asks, confused.

“I’ll show you.”

Handong rises to her feet and stretches. Her cardigan rides up her stomach, and she doesn’t miss the way Yubin’s lips part and her eyes focus on the strip of revealed skin, her pale cheeks flushing light pink. Handong throws her girlfriend a wink, a smirk tugging at her lips.

She cracks her neck to the sides and shakes out her arms. It’s been a while since she last attempted this, and she’s going to have to concentrate.

_Come on, Nannan, I know you’re ready to stretch your legs a little._

Energy floods Handong’s limbs, lightening them, and Handong is barely able to hold Nannan, her cat form, back from emerging completely. She smiles at her success, watching as her fingers lengthen, forming claws at the tips. Her ears tingle as they grow and taper, and her fangs lengthen and sharpen further.

Gahyeon’s jaw drops, and her eyes widen.

“Oh my god,” she gasps. “Can all shapeshifters do that?”

“No,” Handong shakes her head, grinning shyly. “I trained for _months_ to be able to hold this hybrid form. It requires a lot of patience and concentration, and since most vampires’ animal forms are already suited to combat, it’s not something they’d try to achieve.”

Handong flexes her claws, admiring the way they catch the sunlight.

“I keep all the advantages of my regular body with a few extra perks: heightened agility, hearing, and smell, and I can jump extra high and use my claws to help me climb.” 

Handong looks up at the sky for a moment and launches herself into the air. Wind whistles in her ears and brings tears to her eyes as she reaches the apex of her leap. She does a quick flip and lands nimbly several moments later, bending her knees to absorb the impact.

“_What?”_ Gahyeon shouts. “That was so cool!”

“Thank you!”

Grinning, Handong sits back down next to Yubin. Her girlfriend is looking at her with a mixture of awe and pride. Yubin reaches up to scratch behind one of Handong’s tapered ears, mischievousness glinting in her eyes.

The sensation of Yubin’s short nails gently scratching at such a sensitive spot nearly has Handong’s eyes rolling back in her head. She swallows a whimper, a blush burning at her cheekbones. Yubin smirks, eyes dark and filled with promise, and Handong’s stomach does a backflip.

Handong leans in to Yubin, brushing her lips against the shell of Yubin’s ear.

“_Later,_” she breathes in Mandarin, and Yubin’s smirk widens.

With some difficulty, Handong turns back to Gahyeon and takes a deep breath to focus her thoughts, nudging at Nannan to retreat back into her subconscious. Her ears and claws burn as they return to their normal state.

“So, you can see that just because my cat form isn’t outwardly suited for fighting, doesn’t mean I can’t work with it to make it combat-worthy. The same applies for air elementalists; air isn’t as visibly flashy as the other elements or have as many combat applications as they do, but you can work with it and tailor it for some pretty cool things.”

Gahyeon is looking up at her, eyes wide and brow crinkled with concentration, and fondness bursts through Handong’s chest at her enthusiasm.

“You can use air to push or pull against an enemy’s punch or kick to off-balance them and provide an opening for an attack of your own,” Handong continues. “You can use it to shove them away from you in a burst. You can even could use it to levitate yourself if you’re in a tight spot and need some height or a quick escape. It’s not as smooth as a jack’s levitation, but if you work at it, you can get pretty close!”

Gahyeon shakes her head in disbelief, grinning.

“That sounds so cool! Will I really be able to do all that?” Her voice is tinged with wonder and a hint of insecurity.

Handong smiles encouragingly.

“Of course! It’ll take some practice, and you’ll need some hand-to-hand combat training for most of it, but yeah!”

“But we don’t have time for any of that,” Gahyeon’s eyes fill with panic. “How am I going to learn how to control air and earth _and_ how to fight in three days?”

Handong moves closer to Gahyeon and kneels, placing a comforting hand on her knee.

“Hey, it’s okay. We don’t expect you to, it would be impossible for anyone,” Handong reassures quickly.

“There’s only one air technique we’re going to focus on for now,” Yubin says, her deep voice gentle and soothing. “It doesn’t require any fighting abilities, so don’t worry, okay?”

Gahyeon takes a deep breath and nods.

“Okay.”

Handong scoots back next to Yubin.

“The most offensive use of air in combat is taking control of the air inside of the bad guy’s lungs and sucking it out, effectively suffocating them,” Handong explains. “That’s what we’re gonna teach you today.”

Gahyeon’s jaw drops. “Holy shit.”

Handong laughs.

“And we’ll have the next few days to practice it and with earth, so don’t worry about getting it right away,” Yubin adds. “I think Minji and Yoohyeon will be training with you tomorrow, and they’ll have some good insights to share. Minji’s spent the most amount of time with other vampires out of all of us, so she’ll be able to give you some useful pointers.”

“Sounds good!” Gahyeon gives them a thumbs-up and a wide smile, and Handong swears her heart does a little leap at the sight of it. She looks over at Yubin, who seems equally taken in by the former princess and her blinding smile.

_Interesting._

“So,” Handong continues with a smile. “All you have to do is reach out and focus on the air in the place you want to control, and make a mental connection to it, just like you did with balls of earth we practiced with last time. Once you have the connection, that air is yours to control until you release it.”

“We’re just gonna work on the basics of air control today, and Minji and Yoohyeon will work with you tomorrow on the suffocating part,” Yubin adds.

“Okay, sounds good,” Gahyeon says, excitement leaking through her voice.

Handong gets to her feet, brushing stray blades of grass off her pants, and gestures for Gahyeon to stand up too.

Gahyeon rises obediently, bouncing on the balls of her feet with restless energy.

“Your first goal for today is to create a gentle breeze,” Handong says. “In other words, to pull or push the air in any direction you choose. Focus your powers on the air in front of you, and connect with it, just like you did with the earth balls last time, okay?”

“Okay,” Gahyeon nods, shaking her arms out.

She turns around, pulls off her sweater, revealing a black, skintight camisole. Gahyeon drops her sweater on the ground next to her, and turns back to face Handong, and Handong’s jaw nearly drops. The camisole has a low back, and Handong’s eyes widen at the sight of Gahyeon’s toned back muscles flexing and shifting as she moves.

_Wow._

She looks down at Yubin, whose eyes are just as wide, cheeks dusted with pink. Yubin meets her eyes, and a flash of understanding passes between them.

They’ve always been on the same wavelength like this, able to communicate wordlessly through a glance, a tilt of the head, or a well-placed touch, and it’s one of the deepest, most intrinsic parts of their relationship.

Yubin’s eyes glint with curiosity and mischief, pupils just a little dilated, and she blinks, a small smile curling at the edges of her lips. Handong hums, blinking back.

_I know. We’ll talk after._

Handong turns back to Gahyeon, and takes a deep breath to focus her thoughts.

“Take your time, okay? We’ve got all day,” Handong reassures.

Gahyeon nods again, and holds her arms out in front of her, brow furrowing in concentration.

It takes a few minutes, but a gentle breeze begins to swirl around the three of them, stirring at their hair. Gahyeon cheers, grinning wildly, and Handong and Yubin join in.

“Way to go!” Yubin praises, her deep voice filled with pride and enthusiasm.

“That was fantastic,” Handong says, impressed.

“Thank you!” Gahyeon’s breathing hard, sweat glistening on her forehead, but her excited smile is brighter than the sun. “What’s next?”

“You have to push the wind stronger and faster, so the breeze becomes a gust, and then even harder, so it becomes a quick burst. The goal is to get you to eventually be able to create a burst strong enough to knock someone over. You won’t need it to be that strong to suffocate someone, but that’s the eventual ballpark we should be aiming for.”

“Okay,” Gahyeon says, determined. “I’ve got this.”

And over the next few hours, Handong watches Gahyeon slowly begin to master creating stronger breezes, and sending them in different directions. It’s incredible, how fast the former princess is learning and getting the hang of the basics of her powers, it really is, and Handong can’t help but be impressed.

She sees the same emotion reflected in Yubin’s expression when she looks at her, and she knows they’re thinking the same thing.

_She could be a prodigy._

By the time the sky begins to darken, and the stars begin to shine, the three of them are a trio of disheveled, sweaty messes. Their hair is sticking out in all directions from the wind, and their clothes are rumpled and stained with grass, but as they head back towards the van, they’re laughing and cheering at Gahyeon’s success and progress.

“You did so well today,” Handong says, gently brushing the hair out of Gahyeon’s face.

“Thank you,” Gahyeon throws herself into Handong and Yubin’s arms, wrapping her arms around them and squeezing tightly. “_Thank you_.”

Handong knows she isn’t just thanking her for the praise, and warmth and affection floods her chest. She squeezes back, and Yubin presses a kiss to her temple as they hold each other.

Something clicks in her chest, a sensation of absolute rightness and comfort at the feeling of being held by Yubin and Gahyeon, at the feeling of the three of them together like this, and it’s weird, but for the first time since the chaos of Minji’s announcement of their mission and permanent relocation to Seoul, Handong isn’t afraid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to follow me @dreamofyooh on twitter for fic and oneshot updates as well as regularly-scheduled gay panic over dreamcatcher!


	10. At the Tip of this Maze

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

_ D-2 Until the Masquerade _

Gahyeon’s been dimly aware of the clattering noises and muffled swearing invading her sleep for a while now, but what jolts her to consciousness is the sharp sound of the doorbell ringing, momentarily followed by excited shouts. Gahyeon’s eyes snap open, and she shoots up, looking around frantically to identify her surroundings.

The familiar sight of Yubin and Handong’s room greets her, and Gahyeon takes a deep breath, relaxing as her heart-rate slows to its normal, steady pace. Gahyeon frowns in confusion when she realizes she’s alone.

_Where did they go? _

Gahyeon had slept the best she’s ever had sandwiched between Yubin and Handong, and she can’t help the odd surge of disappointment that she’s woken up alone. More clattering and shouting reach her ears, and she realizes they must be out in the den with the others. Although she’s sad to have not woken up to their comforting presence, the fact that they thought to let her sleep in brings a soft smile to her lips and warmth fluttering in her stomach.

Gahyeon yawns and stretches, and climbs out of bed. A set of her new clothes is sitting on Yubin’s desk, surrounded by sealed packing boxes. She dresses quickly, pulling on her new jeans and sweater. She folds her pajamas neatly, puts them inside the new backpack Minji had bought her, and slides it next to the desk before heading towards the bathroom to wash up.

The sounds of excited conversation grow louder as Gahyeon pads into the bathroom, and dimly, she wonders what could possibly have her clanmates so enthused. She flips on the light, wincing at the brightness, and then frowns at the absolute mess her hair looks like in the mirror. She quickly brushes her hair and teeth with her new toiletries sitting on the shelf next to the sink.

Hair neat and silky smooth, and teeth minty-fresh, Gahyeon heads out of the bathroom and into the den to see what all the excitement is about.

To her surprise, Jinsol is sitting on the sofa between Bora and Minji, talking animatedly. Siyeon’s on Bora’s other side, head leaning on her shoulder, and Yoohyeon is next to Minji, focusing intently on what’s probably another PUBG match on her phone. Handong and Yubin are next to Yoohyeon, listening to the conversation and playing idly with each other’s fingers.

Jinsol’s eyes widen and her eyebrows tilt upwards as she notices Gahyeon entering the den. She smiles widely, white teeth flashing.

“Hey, Gahyeon!”

“Hi, Jinsol!” Gahyeon grins back and waves.

Before either of them can say anything else, Minji beckons Gahyeon to the sofa, shooting her a quick smile.

“Hey, did you sleep well?” Minji asks.

The memory of falling asleep between Yubin and Handong flashes in Gahyeon’s mind unbidden, and she blushes, glancing over at the two of them sitting next to each other. Yubin shoots Gahyeon a wink, and Handong smiles at her softly, and Gahyeon’s stomach flips, her blush deepening.

“Really well,” she admits, a smile rising involuntarily to her lips.

“I’m glad,” Minji gestures at the empty spot on the sofa next to Yubin. “Come sit down, Gahyeon, we have a lot to go over today, and then Yoohyeon and I will take you back to the training field for one more practice before the masquerade.”

“Sounds good!” Gahyeon sits down next to Yubin, who bumps her shoulder into Gahyeon’s arm lightly. Gahyeon smiles at her shyly, the brief contact stirring up the butterflies in her stomach.

“Okay, so,” Minji leans forward, resting her arms on her knees, and looks up at Jinsol. “Jinsol, I know I didn’t give you a lot of details over the phone, and it’s because what we’re planning to do before we leave isn’t technically sanctioned. If something goes wrong in the middle, or if Twice finds out what we did after the fact, I don’t want you to be punished with us. I want you to have as much plausible deniability as possible, okay?”

Jinsol inhales sharply, eyes widening.

“Is it that bad?” Despite her shock at the implication of the consequences of Dreamcatcher’s plan, her voice is steady.

“Yeah, it’s pretty bad. It’s nothing undeserved, but it isn’t going to be pretty.”

Jinsol nods and takes a deep breath. “Is there a way I can help without technically being involved?”

Gahyeon’s jaw nearly drops, and she can see her fellow clanmates are equally surprised. _She’s that willing to help even though it might get her in trouble?_ Affection and gratitude for Jinsol bloom in her chest.

Minji tilts her head to the side, thinking.

“Well, we do need a getaway driver.”

Jinsol laughs. “That I can do.”

Minji smiles, shaking her head in disbelief. “Can you pick us up at the edge of the forest behind the palace at midnight? If you bring your suitcases, we can stop here to grab ours and then head to the airport together.”

“You got it,” Jinsol says confidently. “I’ll be there.”

“I – Wow, thank you so much, Jinsol.” Minji’s voice is saturated with gratitude.

“I’m happy to help!” Jinsol says with a smile. “And it’ll be nice to finally experience some real excitement in this place before I leave.”

“That’s true,” Minji chuckles, before turning more somber. “I wish we had time for all of us to talk properly, but we can catch up on the plane. I have a few more plan-related things to go over with everyone before we can finish packing up and getting ready to go.”

Jinsol smiles knowingly. “Plausible deniability?”

“Plausible deniability.”

“I guess that’s my cue to leave.” Jinsol rises from the sofa. “I’ll see you guys soon!”

Jinsol hugs each member, and when Gahyeon’s turn comes, she squeezes her tightly, overcome with emotion at Jinsol’s bravery and willingness to help.

“Thank you,” she says shakily, blinking back tears.

“You’re very welcome,” Jinsol says, squeezing back. “Take care, okay?”

Gahyeon nods. “I will.”

“Good.” Jinsol offers her one last smile, before heading out the door.

Everyone sits back down on the sofa in stunned silence.

“Is it weird that I’m super surprised at how willing she was to help us?” Siyeon asks. “Even though she’d be putting herself in danger?”

“Not at all,” Minji sits back against the cushions. “I’m really surprised too.”

“The way she asked right away if there was anything she could do to help shocked me too,” Bora says. “I couldn’t believe it.”

“We should do something for her when we get back to Seoul, maybe something cute for her and Jungeun,” Yubin suggests.

“That’s a good idea!” Minji nods enthusiastically. “I don’t know how much time we’ll have before we have to go on the mission, but we can figure it out once we get there. In the meantime, though, we have to talk about the plan for the next couple of days.”

Minji looks over at her girlfriend, whose nose is still buried in her phone, and sighs good-naturedly. “Yoohyeon, baby, I know you’re listening, but I need you to pay attention for just a minute, okay?”

Yoohyeon whines cutely but obeys, leaving her PUBG match and tucking her phone away into the pouch in her hoodie. Minji presses a soft kiss to her cheek, and Yoohyeon smiles, eyes crinkling.

“We’re relatively well-known in Polaris,” Minji continues. “Which means that even though we’ll be wearing masks, we need to disguise ourselves as much as possible. To give us the best chance of staying unrecognized by anybody, both at the masquerade itself, and before we enter the palace, we’ll be taking turns dyeing our hair tomorrow.”

Minji immediately holds up a finger in a _wait a minute_ gesture. Bora, who had been about to start shouting in excitement, visibly deflates.

“Otherwise, tomorrow is reserved for packing. Everything has to be finished by the morning of the masquerade. Once packing is done, we’ll get all dressed up, Yoohyeon will hack into the palace’s security network and loop the security cameras, and then we’ll head out. Yoohyeon and Bora will siren the guards into letting us inside, and we’ll get down to business at the earliest available opportunity, and make our escape out the back of the palace and through the forest as fast as possible.”

Minji looks at each member individually, making sure they’ve been paying attention.

“Okay?”

Gahyeon nods, excitement surging in her veins. The others voice their assent, sounding equally excited.

“One thing,” Gahyeon speaks up, blushing when everyone turns to face her. “The king will be giving some sort of speech around half an hour before midnight. It’s the perfect opportunity to start, because everyone will be gathered closely while they listen.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Minji says. “We’ll wait for the speech and then make our move.” She tilts her head thoughtfully. “I think it’ll be easiest to contain everyone if we surround them and work our way in. How does that sound?”

“That makes sense,” Bora’s eyes glint with excitement and determination.

“Gahyeon, would you want to confront the royal family and the court before we get started?” Minji asks.

Gahyeon inhales sharply in surprise.

_Do I?_

Memories flash through her mind’s eye: the hate-filled expression on the king’s face every time he’d looked at her, the crazed, deranged look in his eyes as he beat her; the endless, spittle-ridden insults he’d hurled at her, the shame in the queen’s eyes as she fled the king’s wrath. The constant fear and terror and pain she’s lived with her entire life fill her veins and taste bitter and sickening at the back of her tongue. Pure, absolute rage scorches through her, lighting her up from the inside.

“I want to tear them apart,” Gahyeon clenches her fists, digging her nails sharply into her palms. “But before I do, I want him to see me, to really fucking see me. I want him to look me in the eye and see what I’ve become before I kill him.”

If Minji’s surprised by Gahyeon’s ferocity and conviction, she doesn’t show it.

“We can get up to the front as close as we can and reveal ourselves first,” Bora speaks up. “Then you can do whatever you need to do to the king. If Minji gives us some cover, the rest of us can surround the royal court and start working our way inwards.”

“I’ll need a signal, but I can definitely do that.”

“I’ll handle the signal,” Yoohyeon squeezes Minji’s thigh, a tiny smirk curling her lips and mischievousness glinting in her eyes. “I have an idea.”

“Perfect,” Minji claps her hands together. “Okay, we have our plan. Keep packing and getting your things ready. Make sure you only put things you absolutely need in your suitcases, CLC is sending a truck to pick up our stuff and bring it to Seoul for us after we leave. Yoohyeon, Gahyeon and I are heading to the training field, but we’ll give you guys a hand when we get back.”

“Sounds good!” Bora chirps. She gets up from the couch, gently tugging Siyeon up with her.

As everyone begins to disperse, Minji waves Yoohyeon and Gahyeon over to the front door.

“Are you guys ready to go?”

“Yep!” Yoohyeon answers brightly.

“I’m ready!” Gahyeon’s affirmation is a little quieter, but no less enthusiastic.

“Awesome,” Minji grabs her keys with a grin. “Let’s get going!”

**~ * ~ * ~ * ~**

“How far did Yubin and Handong get you with air yesterday?” Minji asks, leaning back against a charred tree.

It’s a little overcast today, and Gahyeon’s long hair dances in the breeze, like it’s just as excited and eager as she is to finally learn an offensive ability.

They’re back in the training field, for what Gahyeon assumes to be the last time. Both Yoohyeon and Minji look a little wistful and downcast as they survey the field. Gahyeon’s only been here a few times, but she’s come so far and made some incredible memories, and she can’t help but feel a little sad knowing she won’t get to come back to train here again. She can’t even imagine what Minji and Yoohyeon must be feeling.

“Uh, we practiced creating gusts and pushing air around,” Gahyeon brushes her windswept hair out of her eyes, tucking it behind her ears.

“Okay, perfect,” Minji pushes herself off the tree. “That’s all you need. The concept of suffocating an enemy with air is similar to pushing air around to create wind, all you have to do is focus on the air inside your enemy’s lungs and pulling it out of them. The hard part is keeping it out of them until they pass out, but that’s what Yoohyeon and I are here for.”

Gahyeon’s eyes widen in horror as realization dawns on her. “Wait, you want me to practice on _you?”_

“That’s why we’re here,” Yoohyeon squeezes Gahyeon’s hand and offers her a reassuring smile. “We’ll be okay, I promise. We’re vampires, after all, we don’t really need oxygen to survive as much as humans do.”

“I –” Gahyeon takes a deep breath. The idea of hurting Yoohyeon and Minji, who’ve been so kind and welcoming to her, and treated her better than anyone ever had, with nothing but open affection and care, even to further her training, and even though they’re willingly volunteering, fills her with a sensation of absolute _wrongness._

She looks up at Yoohyeon helplessly, emotion rising like a tsunami inside her chest. Her breathing comes faster and faster, and panic begins to fill her lungs; she can’t think, she can’t – _she can’t breathe._

_How can I make them understand? _

“Hey,” Yoohyeon’s voice is steady as she tilts Gahyeon’s chin up to meet her eyes. “Look at me.”

Gahyeon does, and there’s something fascinating, almost hypnotic, about the way the deep brown of Yoohyeon’s irises warms and shifts as she watches.

“Take a deep breath,” Yoohyeon tells her, and her voice is so soothing and comforting, like a warm blanket, that without thinking, Gahyeon inhales deeply. The tightness of her chest and the ferocity of the clashing emotions release and dissipate, and Gahyeon nearly staggers with relief.

“Is that better?” Yoohyeon asks.

Gahyeon nods rapidly, eyes wide in surprise. “What – was that siren?”

“Yes and no,” Yoohyeon smiles, letting out a chuckle. “It was me, just with a little extra boost. Siren isn’t a magical seduction power or mind control like it’s portrayed as in movies and books,” she explains. “Think of it like an amplifier. Siren doesn’t create qualities or traits where there aren’t any, it amplifies what’s already there and gives it an extra magnetic quality. I channeled just a tiny bit of siren, so instead of being just a voice you heard and a touch you felt in the chaos of everything that was going on in your mind, I became a bit of a calming anchor that you could focus on and listen to.”

“Oh, _wow_,” Gahyeon says breathlessly.

“I hope it’s okay that I did that,” Yoohyeon says worriedly. “I didn’t ask for your consent, I’m sorry.”

Gahyeon tilts her head to the side, eyebrows crinkling. “It’s okay,” she reassures. “I appreciate the apology, though. Maybe ask me before next time, though, please?”

Yoohyeon smiles, relieved. “I will, I promise.”

“Can you teach me more about siren?” Gahyeon asks, eager. Now that her panic has abated, and she’s experienced a taste of siren for herself, curiosity charges to the forefront of her mind.

“Of course!” Yoohyeon sits down on the soft grass, gesturing for Gahyeon to join her.

Gahyeon sits quickly, looking up at Yoohyeon with unabashed enthusiasm. Minji joins them, dropping down to sit next to her girlfriend, twining their fingers together.

They exchange a soft smile, before returning their attention to Gahyeon.

“So, because siren is a jack ability, not every jack can use it with the same level of proficiency,” Yoohyeon begins. “And like I said before, it amplifies qualities or traits that a jack is already expressing. So, to play on the vampire stereotype, if a jack wanted to seduce someone, they couldn’t just stand there and turn siren up on blast, because there’d be nothing there to amplify. They’d have to _feel_ confident and powerful and sexy, and embody those feelings, and _then_ channel siren for it to work.”

Gahyeon gasps. “That’s so _cool_!”

Yoohyeon laughs, and Minji smiles.

“I don’t get to use it very often, and it isn’t my strongest jack ability, but it’s absolutely unreal. Siren is a two-way street,” Yoohyeon explains. “So, I feel everything siren amplifies, too.” She shakes her head, grinning. “It’s hard to put into words, but it can be an incredible rush, depending on what I’m amplifying.”

“I’m sure!” Gahyeon’s brow furrows in concentration as she thinks back to when she first met Dreamcatcher. “On my first day, you mentioned levitation is your strongest jack power, right?”

“Yeah,” Yoohyeon says, impressed.

“How does that one work?” Gahyeon asks.

Yoohyeon takes a breath, ready to answer, and then blinks, cocking her head to the side.

“I’ll show you,” she says, smiling knowingly. “But after we finish training for today. And after you explain why you got so upset at the idea of practicing on Minji and I.” Her voice is gentle and free of judgement.

Gahyeon’s breath catches in her throat, and she looks down at the ground, embarrassed. Tears prick at her eyes and she blinks them away, before looking back up at Yoohyeon and Minji. Their eyes are kind and sympathetic, and they wait patiently for her to gather her thoughts.

“Like I mentioned to you before, I was hurt a lot.” She chuckles wryly. “A lot is an understatement, but the more my father – the king,” she corrects, “tortured me, the more I became determined to never hurt or torture someone who didn’t deserve it.” Gahyeon sighs, old pain weighing her shoulders down. “I held onto that determination for years, and it became an intrinsic part of everything that I am. And the idea of practicing this technique on the two of you, who have been through so much, and most definitely haven’t hurt me, or deserve it, goes against everything I’ve believed in and held onto for so long.” 

Yoohyeon’s lips part as she takes a deep breath, and she exchanges an emotion-filled look with Minji.

“I understand,” Minji says softly. “I’ve never been tortured, but I understand what it’s like to be determined to never become a monster who tortures and destroys blindly.”

Gahyeon’s eyes widen as she remembers.

_Vixx._

“Please believe me when I tell you that this will barely hurt us at all,” Minji says, voice steady and reassuring. “You have to learn how to do what you need to do at the masquerade and on our mission. We don’t have enough time to train you properly, but even if we did, you’d still need to practice on _someone_.”

“We’ll only do it for as long as it takes for you to get the technique down,” Yoohyeon promises. “Okay?”

Gahyeon hesitates, still mildly conflicted.

“You’re just gonna practice this a couple of times on us, so you’ll know how to do it on the people who _do_ deserve it.” Minji asserts.

Gahyeon takes a deep breath.

_That’s true._

“Okay,” she agrees.

“Perfect,” Yoohyeon smiles and climbs to her feet. “Give it a shot on me first. And remember what Minji said earlier, make the connection with the air inside my lungs, pull it out, and keep it there.”

Gahyeon uncrosses her legs and stands, brushing the grass off her jeans.

“How will I know when to stop?”

“On a human, you can stop after a minute or so, but on a vampire, it’ll take a little while longer,” Yoohyeon says. “I’ll set the timer on my phone for a minute and a half, that’s around how long it’ll take for a stronger human to die. Once you can do it for that long on me, do it one more time on Minji, and then Minji and I will teach you about our other powers before we go home.”

Gahyeon nods, swallowing hard. The sensation of wrongness is returning, making her nauseous, but she pushes past it, determined to learn and succeed.

Minji places her hand on Gahyeon’s foot. Gahyeon looks down to see Minji smiling up at her encouragingly.

“Breathe, Gahyeon. You’ve got this.”

Gahyeon takes a deep breath and shakes out her arms.

_Here we go._

Gahyeon narrows her eyes, holds out her right arm, and concentrates.

She’s only been training for a few days, but channeling her emotions to summon her powers has become much easier than it was when she first started training with Handong and Yubin.

The wind, already present and lively, picks up as she makes the connection to it, like it’s happy to have found someone to play with. She pushes and pulls with it just a little, just to make sure she hasn’t forgotten how. She laughs as it swirls around her, already feeling lighter and more confident.

Realistically, she knows the wind can’t communicate, but she swears she feels it tugging gently in her veins, like it’s repeating Minji’s encouragement.

_You’ve got this._

Gahyeon’s smile widens, her confidence rising as she turns her attention to Yoohyeon. The air inside the gray-haired vampire’s lungs is harder to find, and definitely more difficult to make a connection with because of its ebb and flow, but after around half a minute, Gahyeon succeeds.

She furrows her brow in concentration, fingers shaking slightly, and as carefully as possible, Gahyeon _pulls_.

Yoohyeon’s automatic reaction is immediate, her eyes widen and she stumbles forward, like she’s trying to chase the air so she can breathe it back inside. Worried, Gahyeon freezes, but Yoohyeon recovers quickly and waves her off, starting the timer on her phone.

As difficult as it is for Gahyeon to maintain her concentration and prevent Yoohyeon from breathing, to prevent any of the air in her immediate vicinity from breaking the vacuum she’s created around Yoohyeon’s head, she bares her teeth and pushes through, sweat trickling down her temples.

The time passes excruciatingly slowly; the air is stubborn, and chafes at the boundary Gahyeon’s created, but she holds steady. As Gahyeon reaches the limits of her concentration and control, the timer goes off, and Gahyeon releases the connection to the air, nearly collapsing with relief.

_Wait, Yoohyeon!_

Gahyeon looks up quickly to see Yoohyeon breathing normally, if a little heaver than normal, pale cheeks flushed with exertion. Yoohyeon approaches her, her smile almost blinding.

“That was amazing!” Her voice exudes pride, and she hugs Gahyeon tightly, picking her up and spinning her around a couple times before setting her back on the ground.

Gahyeon laughs giddily, the pride and happiness at her success suffusing her as Yoohyeon spins her.

“Oh, my god, I did it!”

“You did it!” Minji is on her feet, clapping and grinning widely. She bounds over and ruffles Gahyeon’s hair affectionately, and Gahyeon’s chest is so light and filled with elation, it’s like she could take off into the sky at any moment.

“Okay,” Yoohyeon releases Gahyeon from her embrace. “One more time, okay? And then you can rest while Minji and I finally do some work.” She winks.

Gahyeon nods, catching her breath, and shaking out her arms one more time as Yoohyeon gets the timer ready. Minji moves a few feet away, facing her with a soft smile on her lips.

Gahyeon inhales deeply, holding her arm out once more, and concentrates, pulling the air from Minji’s lungs and sealing the area around her head in a vacuum.

This time, it’s a little easier. The air is familiar with her now, and it’s a little less vexing in its efforts to reclaim the space Gahyeon’s carved out. Minji’s reaction is similar to Yoohyeon’s; she’s startled at first and then quickly adjusts, standing serenely as she waits for the timer to go off.

The time passes a little quicker, and despite her tiredness, Gahyeon holds the barrier steady. When the timer goes off and she releases her connection, Gahyeon falls to her knees with the relief of it, breathing hard.

She looks up quickly to check on Minji. She shouldn’t have been worried, though, because like Yoohyeon, Minji’s perfectly fine.

Gahyeon sits back on the ground, catching her breath as Minji kneels down in front of her and hugs her.

“You did so well, I’m so proud!”

And Gahyeon’s already so emotional and happy, she nearly cries at Minji’s open affection. Minji tilts her chin up.

“Rest now, okay? Yoohyeon and I will entertain you.” Minji winks and stands fluidly.

“Do you wanna go first, or should I?” Yoohyeon asks.

Minji tilts her head to the side. “Rock, paper, scissors for it? Winner goes first?”

Yoohyeon laughs. “You’re on.”

The two vampires face each other intently, and Gahyeon can’t hold back a giggle at the intensity on their faces as they count off.

Minji wins, scissors to Yoohyeon’s paper, and she cheers, throwing her arms in the air. Yoohyeon pouts disappointedly, but Minji leans and kisses her until a smile curves at the edges of her lips.

“Have a seat, baby.” Minji strokes Yoohyeon’s cheek gently, and backs up several feet.

Yoohyeon obeys and sits next to Gahyeon, her cheeks flushed and lips a little swollen, and affection bursts in Gahyeon’s chest for the two of them.

Minji shakes out her hands, and Gahyeon’s jaw drops, because as she does, sparks materialize around her hands, weaving between her fingers. They glow brighter and brighter and move faster and faster, and then Minji holds out her hands, two baseball-sized fireballs hovering above them. She takes a step back with one foot to brace herself and thrusts her arms out in front of her.

The fireballs streak from her palms, hurtling through the air, and impact the tree Minji had been leaning against earlier. The tree explodes, sending chunks of charred bark flying, and Gahyeon gasps.

“Holy _shit_!”

Minji grins and stretches her hands. She begins tracing odd motions in the air, and more sparks glow, trailing the quick, deft movements of her long fingers. Minji plucks and pulls at the air with practiced motions filled with easy confidence, like a violinist playing a piece they themselves composed and has played for years. Her whole body moves, and everywhere her fingers go, more sparks come to life, chasing each other, chasing her fingers as they move faster and faster and it’s _dizzying_, how fast everything is moving and how bright the sparks are glowing, and then Minji throws her arms up to the sky.

The sparks rocket upwards and zoom towards each other at the same time, and they explode like a firework, shooting even higher into the sky as they glow and crackle before fading away.

Gahyeon is speechless.

Yoohyeon claps and cheers for her girlfriend, and stunned, Gahyeon joins in.

“That was _incredible_,” Gahyeon says breathlessly as Minji jogs towards them.

Her cheeks are flushed from close proximity to the heat, and she looks a little tired, but otherwise unaffected by the jaw-dropping display she’d created.

“Thank you!” Minji says brightly. “The fireworks are for show, but I’ve had so much fun putting together different patterns and everything. Bora helped me with working out the motions and making sure my movement flows well, she’s really talented at that kinda thing.”

“Oh, wow, that’s so cool!”

Minji smiles as she sits down by Gahyeon’s other side and leans forward to look at Yoohyeon.

“Your turn, cutie.”

Yoohyeon blushes and stands up.

“So, my levitation powers aren’t as showy as Minji’s fire abilities, but they're great for reaching high places and jumping down from heights that would hurt even us,” Yoohyeon explains, tugging at the sleeves of her hoodie.

“Wait, is it like flying?” Gahyeon asks curiously.

Yoohyeon shakes her head. “It’s not true flight, I can’t go as high as I want or move as freely as I want, but I can get maybe forty or fifty feet in the air at a time. It doesn’t last that long either, a couple minutes at the maximum, but that’s just for me. A lot of jacks can’t stay in the air for as long as I can, some can barely even get off the ground.”

Gahyeon hums and watches Yoohyeon with rapt, wide-eyed focus as she rises on the tips of her toes and then just continues rising up, like gravity decided it needed a break from keeping her on the ground. Arms out just a little for balance, Yoohyeon levitates upward, an easy, confident grin on her face as she closes her eyes, relishing in the sensation of absolute freedom. Her legs move slightly in the air as she continues to rise. Her hair drifts around her face, and the sun’s glow settles on her skin, lighting her up, and Gahyeon’s breath catches in her throat.

_She looks like an angel._

Yoohyeon spins in a slow circle as she reaches her maximum height, and then crosses her legs, like she’s sitting down on the air itself.

Without warning, Yoohyeon drops from the sky like a stone, whooping as gravity reasserts itself over her. Gahyeon screams, hands coming up to cover her face.

There’s no sound of impact. Confused, Gahyeon lowers her hands to see Yoohyeon hovering a foot above the ground, palms facing down, hair windswept and messy, a mischievous grin on her face.

Gahyeon nearly collapses with relief.

“Oh my _God_, Yoohyeon!”

Yoohyeon floats the rest of the way to the ground, laughing.

“_Yah!” _Minji shouts, hitting Yoohyeon’s arm as she sits down in her lap. “Look what you did, you scared her!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Yoohyeon’s still laughing, but she does her best to look contrite.

Gahyeon sighs, shaking her head. Now that she knows Yoohyeon’s safe, she can’t help but laugh too, and Minji joins in, her signature cackle filling the air.

It takes the three vampires a few moments to calm down.

“You did so well today, Gahyeon” Minji praises, gently nudging Yoohyeon off her lap so she can stand.

“You really did,” Yoohyeon agrees climbing back to her feet. “I was really impressed, I can’t believe you got it on your first try!”

Gahyeon flushes, grinning shyly. “Thank you! And thank you guys for teaching me so well, I had so much fun.”

Minji holds out her hands to help Gahyeon up. “You’re very welcome! We definitely did too.”

Gahyeon grabs Minji’s outstretched hands, and Minji hauls her up to her feet easily.

“Come on, let’s go home,” Minji says, twining her finger’s with Yoohyeon’s and heading over to the van. “We still have a lot to do in the next couple days.” She turns around to look at Gahyeon. “And we have to dye your hair!”

Gahyeon cheers, and follows Minji and Yoohyeon into the van, excitement for the days ahead and the masquerade filling her chest.

_I can’t wait._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for the delay, but I hope this larger update was worth the wait and that you enjoyed! I've got a little surprise planned for this fic before I post the last two chapters, so keep your eyes out for it! And as always, please feel free to follow me on twitter @dreamofyooh for fic updates and frequent gay-panicking over Dreamcatcher!


	11. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise!

_ D-1 Until the Masquerade _

“How’re you feeling about tomorrow?” Minji asks, shifting so she can look up at Yoohyeon, eyes soft and concerned.

They’re lying in bed, winding down after a long, emotional day of packing up the remainder of their belongings. Yoohyeon is propped up against the headboard, Minji’s head in her lap, and she’s absent-mindedly running her fingers through Minji’s newly-bleached hair.

Yoohyeon sighs, looking around at their room. In just a matter of hours, it's gone from absolutely brimming with life and colour and warmth, to completely barren and empty. Their posters, books, clothes, various knickknacks, and souvenirs from CLC and Polaris have been packed away into the few cardboard boxes sitting next to the door, and the suddenness of it all leaves a lingering, melancholy ache in Yoohyeon’s chest.

Yoohyeon looks down at her girlfriend, gently brushing a finger along her jawline.

“A little nervous,” she admits.

“Me too,” Minji confesses. “I’m excited at the same time, but I can’t help but be worried for everyone; for Bora, Siyeon, Handong, and Yubin to be exposed to that level of violence after what they’ve been through, for Gahyeon to see the people who hurt her so badly again.”

She sits up and scoots backwards, and Yoohyeon automatically widens the space between her legs to allow Minji to push herself further back and lean against her chest. She twists around, meeting Yoohyeon’s gaze, and tucks a lock of Yoohyeon’s newly-dyed hair behind her ear.

“I’m worried for _you_,” Minji says, her voice shaking almost imperceptibly.

Yoohyeon’s chest expands with love and affection at Minji’s concern so fast, her chest aches with it. She knows why Minji’s worried, how could she not?

“You’ve never seen violence like this,” Minji’s voice is barely audible. Her brown eyes glisten with unshed tears, searching Yoohyeon’s. “You’ve never had to hurt anyone like this.” She reaches up to stroke Yoohyeon’s cheek, and Yoohyeon instinctively leans into Minji’s touch. “You’ve never trained your resistance to siren, to how far deep you can go before you can’t come out anymore.”

Minji’s right; siren is a double-edged sword, and if Yoohyeon can’t stay in control, and she loses herself to its seduction, she’ll never find her way out. She’s barely even tested the waters of her resistance, let alone tried to strengthen it; she’s never had to. Regret and anguish at her lack of foresight steal Yoohyeon’s breath away, pricking her eyes with tears.

“I know,” she says softly.

Minji leans in, pressing her forehead to Yoohyeon’s.

“Promise me you won’t go too far.” The tears slip down Minji’s cheeks. “Promise me you won’t let it take you.” Her voice trembles. “Once I let the flames loose, I’ll be struggling to not lose myself to them myself. I won’t be able to watch out for you, or bring you back if you start to lose control.”

“I promise,” Yoohyeon says fiercely, determined. “Don’t let the fire take you either, _please_. Be careful.”

Minji’s laugh is watery, and she wipes her tears on her sleeve. “I’ll be as careful as I can, I promise.”

“Good.”

Yoohyeon wraps her arms around Minji’s thin frame, pulling her against her, and presses a gentle kiss to her lips. She can feel the warmth of Minji’s skin radiating through the material of her pajamas – being a fire elementalist means Minji always runs warm.

Minji sighs into the kiss, deepening it to nip gently at Yoohyeon’s bottom lip and lick into her mouth, and Yoohyeon whimpers, heat shooting down her limbs, and her heart-rate doubling. She slips her hands under Minji’s sleep shirt, exploring the softness of her toned skin with her fingers.

Yoohyeon breaks the kiss to press hot, open-mouthed kisses up her jawline, and Minji turns her neck instinctively to allow Yoohyeon more access. She nips and sucks her way up, reveling in the sensation of Minji’s rapid breaths unfurling by her cheek, and pausing only to graze her teeth gently on Minji’s earlobe before kissing her way back down again.

Minji’s breath hitches in her throat then, her cheeks flushed pink, and it’s a synonymous movement that has Minji rising on her knees and pulling her shirt off, dropping it next to her on the bed. Yoohyeon’s jaw drops; Minji isn’t wearing a bra, and she’s looking down at her, pupils dilated, lips kiss-swollen, her blonde hair tumbling down her shoulders, and Yoohyeon’s heart nearly stops. 

“You’re so beautiful,” she breathes reverently, and Minji surges forward to connect their lips again.

It’s not a gentle kiss anymore, it’s all tongues and teeth and emotion, and filled with desperate heat, unspoken words lingering in their shared breaths as Minji pulls Yoohyeon’s shirt off, and Yoohyeon tips them over so she’s on top.

_Stay with me._

Yoohyeon trails hot kisses down Minji’s neck, scraping the edges of her sharp incisors against her skin, and Minji moans, soft and breathy. Minji’s always been very vocal, and her moans stoke the inferno of heat swirling in Yoohyeon’s veins.

Minji’s strawberry scent is dizzying, and Yoohyeon drinks it in greedily between kisses. When she reaches Minji’s sternum and the sensitive skin of the valley between her breasts, Minji whines, back arching into Yoohyeon’s lips.

“You moan so prettily for me, I love it.”

Yoohyeon returns her lips to Minji’s skin, kissing and licking every sensitive inch worshipfully, until her chest is heaving and her breasts are spit-slick and reddened. Yoohyeon makes her way down Minji’s body, dipping her tongue into her navel and scraping her fangs against her hipbone.

Minji lifts her hips to help Yoohyeon take off her sleep shorts, but as Yoohyeon lowers her head between Minji’s shaking thighs, Minji props herself up on her elbows.

“Wait,” she says, breathing hard.

Yoohyeon freezes, raising her head.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Minji smiles softly. “I just want to look at you.”

Yoohyeon grins, her cheeks flushing pink, and she settles herself above her girlfriend, leaning over her so their noses are barely brushing. She slides her hand back down Minji’s stomach to rest on Minji’s inner thigh.

“Is this okay?” She asks.

Minji nods frantically.

“Please,” she breathes against Yoohyeon’s lips.

Yoohyeon smirks at Minji’s desperation, and slips two fingers into Minji’s warmth, gasping at the copious amount of wetness soaking her fingers.

“Fuck, you’re so wet for me,” Yoohyeon says, awed, and Minji is so overcome, she can’t even respond, hips bucking against Yoohyeon’s fingers.

Yoohyeon takes the hint and begins thrusting, curling her fingers to catch at the sensitive spot on Minji’s front wall, and swallowing sounds of her own as she watches Minji’s brow furrows in concentration as she chases her pleasure. 

Yoohyeon’s world quickly narrows, her entire universe becoming the sensation of Minji’s soft walls around her fingers, her high-pitched moans, and the sensation of her own clit throbbing desperately with arousal. When Yoohyeon slips a third finger inside, Minji sobs with pleasure, grinding her clit against Yoohyeon’s palm.

Minji’s eyes glow from within like embers when she comes, a strangled, broken moan spilling from her parted lips, and Minji’s never been as beautiful as she is now, hair a messy halo around her head, muscular thighs trembling, and it’s so spell-binding, Yoohyeon forgets how to breathe.

She helps her come down, slowing her thrusts, and pressing gentle kisses to Minji’s lips and cheeks and jaw. She waits until Minji’s sufficiently caught her breath, before easing her fingers out of her and resting her forehead against Minji’s shoulder.

“You’re just –“ Minji pauses, tilting her head. Yoohyeon lifts her head. “My brain isn’t working well right now, thanks to you,” she says accusingly, eyes crinkling with humour, before breaking out into a wide smile.

“I’m sorry!” Yoohyeon laughs, and throws her girlfriend a wink.

Minji shakes her head, grinning.

“You’re wonderful,” she says, cupping Yoohyeon’s cheek. “And so brave.”

She presses her forehead to Yoohyeon’s. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Yoohyeon smiles, love and affection for her girlfriend threatening to overflow in her chest.

“Until tomorrow, though,” Minji muses teasingly, a smirk curling at her lips. She flips them over so she’s on top, and Yoohyeon’s breath catches in her throat. “Let me return the favour.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this little surprise: a peek into Yoohyeon and Minji's thoughts and feelings before the big day: the calm before the storm. It's hard to believe there are just two chapters left, the climax of everything I've been building over these months with this story. I hope you've enjoyed the climb!
> 
> As always, please feel free to follow me @dreamofyooh on twitter for writing updates and for frequent gay-panicking over dreamcatcher, and I'll see you soon, in Part 1 of the finale!


	12. Like the Fire That Grows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go!

Masquerade

_It _really_ shouldn’t be this easy,_ Minji thinks, smirking as she and Yoohyeon step between the dazed, slack-jawed royal guards, and into the palace grounds.

Yoohyeon holds out her arm for Minji to take as they walk up the beautiful stone path to the palace entrance, and Minji takes it, wrapping her arm around Yoohyeon’s elbow. Her breath hitches at their close proximity and the gentle contact; Yoohyeon hasn’t stopped channeling siren, and the intensity of the desire and temptation seeping into her is dizzying. Despite her natural vampiric resistance, Minji’s eyes are glued to the way Yoohyeon’s tailored suit shows off her figure, how her slim black dress pants hug the curve of her ass, and she swallows hard.

As they pass the lush gardens on either side of the path, Minji looks back behind them to see Siyeon, Bora, Handong, Yubin and Gahyeon follow close behind, their eyes alight with primal excitement and nervous energy behind their black lace masks. Further behind them are the two guards, staring unabashed and hungry at Yoohyeon and at Bora, who’s also still channeling siren.

Minji’s hands grow hot with anger, threatening to burst into flames, and siren-charged possessiveness surges through her.

_Mine._

A faint growl reaches Minji’s ears, and she glances back. Siyeon, having followed Minji’s gaze behind them, is glaring at the guards, absolutely livid. Her upper lip is curled up, teeth bared, her incisors beginning to lengthen.

_Shit._

Luckily, Bora realizes the imminent danger, and wraps her arm around Siyeon’s waist, pulling her close. She rises on her tiptoes and strokes the curve of Siyeon’s jawline, drawing her gaze back to her.

“It’s okay, baby,” Bora says quietly. “Just look at me.” Her voice echoes softly with the double-timbre of siren.

Bora adjusts the lapels of Siyeon’s suit jacket, straightening them with easy, smooth movements, and tucks a lock of Siyeon’s hair behind her ear. Siyeon’s eyelids flutter, and she inhales sharply as she regains control, her eyes clearing and posture relaxing. She smiles bashfully at her girlfriend, embarrassed.

Bora grins back crookedly, affection and understanding softening the wicked, mesmerizing gleam of active siren in her eyes.

Minji breathes a sigh of relief and turns back around. The minor adrenaline rush from such a close call clears some of siren’s effect from her mind, and she trains her gaze on the palace entrance with renewed focus.

The sound of music spills from the open doors, growing louder as they approach. The doors themselves are stunning; white and gilded with gold trim to match the outside of the palace. Each door has an armed guard standing next to it, looking over the guests as they enter.

The guards’ eyes go wide and glaze over, their cheeks flush as the combined power of Yoohyeon and Bora’s siren hits them. Siren-charged jealousy threatens to explode in fire from Minji’s fingertips, but Yoohyeon strokes Minji’s hand with her thumb, gentle and soothing. Minji looks up at her girlfriend, smiling softly, as they pass through the doors and into the palace.

Something changes in Minji, then, as they step through the threshold and onto the sparkling marble floor of the foyer. Maybe it’s a combination of the effects of siren and the knowledge of what they’re there to do, but Minji’s nervous anticipation is taken over by something far more predatory.

It drips from the back of her brain down her spine, filling her limbs with burning heat and her chest with wicked delight. It’s saccharine-sweet and intoxicating on the back of her tongue, and it curls her lips into a smirk.

Minji knows she should be focusing on how beautiful the palace is, with its stunning canvases draping the walls, golden sconces, and crystalline chandeliers filling the air with a bright, welcoming glow. She should be counting the number of royal guests that are talking and laughing and drinking, taking note of where the guards are stationed, but siren is thrumming in her veins, and this new, greedy sensation is luring her higher cognitive functions astray.

_You can hunt, darling, _it purrs enticingly._ Go on._

Minji inhales sharply and looks up at Yoohyeon, who seems similarly affected. Yoohyeon’s pupils are dilated, her irises brimming with a deep red glow. Her grin radiates effortless confidence, and Minji has to dig her nails into her palms to stop herself from pressing Yoohyeon up against the nearest surface and kissing her until her lips are bruised and swollen.

Minji pauses in the middle of the foyer and motions for everyone to gather in a small circle. Bora, Siyeon, Handong, Yubin, and Gahyeon obey, but the way their eyes gleam with wicked mischief and temptation, and the way their strides lengthen into languid struts tell Minji they’re all being affected the same way.

“Yubin, how’re we doing on time?” Minji asks.

Yubin is leaning against Handong, arm resting on her shoulder. Her lips brush the length of Handong’s jawline lazily, eyes raking covetously down her body.

“Yoohyeon, Bora, can you guys tone down the siren for a minute?”

Yubin is definitely enraptured by the intoxicating combination, and if Minji’s being honest with herself, so is she. They need to focus.

The effects of siren seep away, and Minji blinks, her mind clearing. The cockiness and temptation to hunt are still there, but at least the lack of siren has removed a good portion of the distraction.

“Yubin? What time is it?” Minji repeats.

Yubin smiles sheepishly, cheeks flushing and slips her hand into the pocket of her dress pants. She pulls out a gold pocket watch and checks the time.

“We have fifteen minutes until the speech,” she says, voice husky and deep, and Minji doesn’t miss the way both Handong and Gahyeon swallow hard at the sound.

_Interesting._

“We’re fashionably late,” Yubin continues, “just like we planned.” Yubin replaces the pocket watch, wrapping her arm around her girlfriend’s waist.

“Okay,” Minji looks up at Yoohyeon. “Yoohyeon, are you ready to loop the cameras?”

Yoohyeon nods, pulling out her phone. She taps away at the screen for a moment, and then switches it off, and puts it away.

“Cameras are looped,” Yoohyeon says. “We’re good to go.”

“Perfect. Let’s go inside to mingle and dance a little while we wait for midnight,” Minji suggests. “When the king begins to speak, we’ll reconvene towards the front of the crowd. Siyeon, Handong and Yubin, don’t forget to keep an eye out for where the guards are. You guys know what to do. Yoohyeon, Bora, stick by Gahyeon when the time comes. Make sure to keep siren up as high as you can, to make sure no one interferes. I’ll be right behind you.”

The six vampires nod, eyes sparking with determination and gleaming with hunger.

Minji takes a moment to look them over, pride welling in her chest at how strong, confident and ready they are.

Bora is gorgeous as always, her deep red suit complementing her long auburn hair. Siyeon’s suit is black with a matching waistcoat, and the combination of it, the sharp curve of her jaw, and her freshly-dyed black hair is absolutely deadly.

Handong looks like a fallen angel. Her golden hair resembles a halo against the sharp black of her suit, making her look both infernal and breathtakingly ethereal.

Yubin is devastatingly handsome; her short hair is dyed black, and she’s wearing a royal blue collared V-neck button-down, with the first two buttons undone and the collar turned up. Her dress pants, which are the same shade as her shirt, are tucked into knee-high boots. A mid-length cape swirls behind her, trimmed in gold.

Gahyeon’s beauty is absolutely ethereal; her suit is rose pink, with a pink waistcoat and a black tie underneath. Her hair is its normal shade of black; she’d changed her mind about dyeing it last-minute, saying she wanted the royal family to recognize her properly before she killed them. Gahyeon’s nervousness is gone; there’s nothing but intense determination and focus in her eyes and her posture. Minji can’t help but be doubly proud of the former princess.

Yoohyeon is the handsomest of all, in Minji’s eyes. Although she’d spent at least ten minutes shamelessly staring at her before they’d left the bar, Minji’s knees still go a little weak as she looks her over.

Minji takes a deep breath to regain her focus.

“Let’s go.”

Their little circle breaks, and the seven vampires head further into the palace. It’s gorgeous, Minji has to admit. It’s beyond surprising that such a beautiful place could hide so much evil.

_Not all that glitters is gold,_ Minji reminds herself.

The music grows louder as they enter the ballroom; there’s a live band playing in the corner, their beat quick and energetic. The ballroom is enormous; the many tables are laden with food and drinks, and the royal court members are eating, talking, drinking, laughing, and dancing. Uniformed servants patrol the room, carrying trays covered in appetizers and champagne-filled glasses.

The dais is located on the opposite side of the ballroom, next to the band. The king and his wife sit on their matching thrones, talking and laughing and drinking.

This does not look like a place that is mourning the loss of Starsight’s princess. And neither does it look like the king and queen are mourning their daughter.

Fury sparks in Minji’s veins, burning in her chest. Her fingertips ache with the effort of holding back her flames.

Yoohyeon reaches out for her, no doubt sensing the surge in her emotions, and leads her to the dance floor. Gratitude for her girlfriend surges through Minji’s chest.

As if by magic, the band begins to play a slower, more romantic song. Minji presses herself close to Yoohyeon, wrapping her arms loosely around her neck. Yoohyeon grins, resting her cheek against the top of Minji’s head and wrapping her arms around Minji’s waist.

“You’re perfect,” Minji murmurs against Yoohyeon’s skin.

Yoohyeon laughs.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” she says, and Minji can hear the smile in her voice.

They sway in place idly for a few minutes, enjoying the last moments of calm before the storm. Minji takes the opportunity to pick out the guards standing by the dais and the exit, and to count the number of court members in the room.

There are twenty-four guards in the room, and as many as two hundred guests and servants. Minji begins to get a little worried.

“We’ve got this,” Yoohyeon reassures softly, her voice soothing and calm.

Minji inhales deeply, her shoulders relaxing. The desire to hunt and feed simmers at the back of her throat, and her nervousness disappears.

“We’ve got this,” she repeats confidently.

“That’s my girl.”

Minji smiles.

“Do you have your signal ready?” Minji asks. “I forgot to check before.”

Yoohyeon lifts her head and meets Minji’s gaze, grinning mischievously.

Minji feels the moment Yoohyeon begins channeling siren again; it hums in her bones, enticing her closer to her girlfriend.

“I do,” Yoohyeon’s voice echoes slightly with siren’s double-timbre. She winks, smirking. “You’ll know it when you hear it.”

Minji’s breath hitches in her throat. She’s about to respond, when the music stops, and a loud voice speaks over the din of the crowd.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the court, please approach the dais!”

Adrenaline explodes down Minji’s spine. She surges forward, pressing a short, intense kiss to Yoohyeon’s lips. It’s a little awkward, because of their masks, but Yoohyeon blinks, eyes dazed, and Minji can’t help but smile. She links their fingers together, tugging Yoohyeon towards the dais where everyone is gathering.

“Come on, let’s join the others.”

Minji leads Yoohyeon through the crowd, pushing her way past the well-dressed members of the court. They find the rest of their clan several rows behind the front, and line up horizontally in the order they had discussed back at the bar: Siyeon on the far left, followed by Handong and Bora, Gahyeon in the very middle, and then Yoohyeon, Minji, and Yubin on the far right.

Minji gives everyone one last once-over, just to make sure they’re all okay. The six vampires look ready and focused, eyes lasered on the king and queen, who are rising from their thrones.

Minji’s heart races in her chest; the adrenaline combining with the quiet siren and wicked instinct to hunt is a potent, dizzying combination.

_Soon._

“Squeeze Yoohyeon and Bora’s hands when you’re ready,” Minji whispers to Gahyeon.

Gahyeon nods, inhaling shakily. Her jaw is clenched, her back is stiff and shoulders tense. Her eyes swirl and spark with emotion as she looks up at her biological family; if Minji is this affected by so many emotions, she can’t even imagine what Gahyeon must be feeling.

As the king begins to speak, his voice deep and booming and full of confidence, hatred burns bitter on Minji’s tongue and at the back of her throat. This man looks handsome and good and kind; the palace is beautiful, bright and welcoming, and the court is in good spirits.

Minji can’t believe how much evil lives here.

_Gahyeon deserves so much better._

A moment or two passes, before Yoohyeon squeezes Minji’s hand. Minji squeezes Yubin’s hand to pass the signal along, and refocuses on the dais. She cracks her neck to the side and shakes out her hands.

_Go time._

As Yoohyeon and Bora slip deeper into siren, the seven vampires step forward in unison, pushing past the remaining rows of court members in front of them. Stunned by the effects of siren, the courtiers allow them through without protest.

The king’s voice falters as he takes in the newcomers, his brow crinkling into a deep frown.

Minji glares up at him through her mask, her hands shaking with the effort of holding back her flames.

_Just a little longer._

“Shut the _fuck_ up,” Gahyeon snarls.

A gasp of shock ripples through the crowd. The guards stationed on either side of the dais step forward, reaching for their weapons. They march straight into the invisible bubble of siren, and stop dead in their tracks, grinning dopily at Yoohyeon and Bora. 

The king’s expression darkens with fury.

“How _dare_ – ”

One by one, the seven vampires allow their eyes to burn red.

The king’s furious admonishment dies on his lips, and he stumbles backwards, holding his cane out in front of him as if to protect himself.

_Pathetic._

“Who - what are you?”

Gahyeon tears off her mask and throws it at her feet.

“Do you recognize me now?” Gahyeon’s voice is almost unrecognizable, infernal, almost demonic.

The royal family gasps in horror. The queen collapses in a dead faint, nearly toppling off the side of the dais. Anger and hatred burn in the king’s eyes, and he steps forward, looking down at his daughter.

“_You_,” He growls, and for the first time, Minji sees the madness glowing in his eyes. “I thought I killed you, you worthless bitch. I’ll have to make sure I finish the job this time.”

Gahyeon breaks the line and approaches the steps of the dais. Yoohyeon and Bora follow, standing just behind her at either side, the red glow in their eyes deepening.

Gahyeon leaps onto the dais in front of the king, and he trips backwards, sitting down hard on his throne. Fear flashes in his eyes, and he attempts to hold his cane out in front of him for protection once more.

“Stop!” He commands, voice cracking. “I am your king!”

Gahyeon chuckles.

“You’re nothing.”

Gahyeon snatches the star-topped cane from his weak grip and snaps it in two. She whips the pieces at his head, grinning at the twin sounds of impact. The king screams in pain, pressing himself further against the back of his throne.

Gahyeon stalks towards him, baring her fangs.

“Please,” the king begs retreating as far as he can into his throne. “Have mercy!”

“You never had any mercy for me,” Gahyeon spits, “no matter how many times I begged. You _ruined_ me. There won’t be any mercy for you, in this life or the next.”

Gahyeon cocks her head to the side, holds out her arm and sucks the air out of her father’s lungs. His eyes bulge in their sockets, his face reddening. His mouth gapes open as he desperately tries to breathe.

After a few moments, the king’s face turns purple, strangled noises erupting from his throat as he tries to fight unconsciousness, but Gahyeon is unrelenting.

The king collapses, dead. His body tumbles forward, collapsing at the base of his throne. The crown drops off his head and rolls forward. Gahyeon stops it with her foot, and then spins around to face the court, her eyes blazing with vindication.

Entranced as the court is by siren, the sight of their monarch being killed in front of them is enough to snap them out of it. Screams pierce the air, and the court surges as one towards the exit, pushing and shoving each other in their desperation to escape.

Unfortunately for them, the exit is blocked by an enormous, snarling wolf. Siyeon growls, her fangs gnashing. Yubin and Handong leap over the crowd, landing on either side of her.

Yubin flicks her wrists, and two chunks of concrete burst from the wall behind her to hover above her open palms.

Handong’s form flows and shifts, until she’s standing on Siyeon’s other side, half-shifted. She flexes her claws, hissing at the court.

The screams grow louder, and the court stumbles back, looking frantically between Gahyeon and the three vampires blocking the exit.

“And you all,” Gahyeon shouts, addressing the rest of her family and the court cowering in the center of the ballroom. “You watched my father beat me and break me. You let the guards stand by and say nothing. _You are just as guilty_.”

Gahyeon jumps down from the dais and stalks forward towards the crowd, a snarl on her lips.

Minji’s heartbeat thunders in her ears. Her fingertips and palms itch and burn, the flames surging inside her like tidal waves. Tension draws her body taut like a wire, as the voice drips between her ears like honey.

_Look at them, _it purrs,_ waiting for you to hunt. Such delicious, easy prey. _

Minji squeezes her eyes shut, breathing hard and trembling with the effort of holding herself back.

All of a sudden, Yoohyeon is at her side again, and Minji’s knees nearly give out when Yoohyeon slips further into siren, further then she’s ever gone before. Siren seeps into Minji's breath and her bones. She shivers, the effect fraying her tenuous control even further. Yoohyeon presses her face into Minji’s hair, trailing her lips down Minji’s temple to brush against the shell of her ear. Minji shivers, leaning further into her touch, heat and desire and primal hunger exploding through her.

Yoohyeon smirks, soft and wicked.

“_Light them up, pretty.”_

In an instant, the tension in Minji’s spine from the fire battering at her skin from the inside, and the predatory instincts whispering at her, soft and encouraging, break all at once.

The flames explode from Minji’s open hands. The red glow in her eyes brightens with all the fire of the sun, and she proceeds to set the room ablaze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed part 1 of the finale! It's hard to believe there's only one chapter left, I hope to have it out for you all soon, so you don't have to wait too long.
> 
> As always, thank you so much for reading, and please feel free to follow me on Twitter @ethereyubin for fic-related tweets and updates, as well as frequent gay-panicking over Dreamcatcher (and the new mystery codes!).


	13. And Then There Was No One Left

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you on the other side!

Finale

Out of all the things Gahyeon had expected to retain from her human life, her heartbeat wasn’t one of them.

Here she is, in the ballroom of her family’s castle, surrounded by a cacophony of agonized screams, desperate courtiers shoving and trampling each other in their attempt to escape with their lives, the very air itself aflame. Her clanmates are holding nothing back as they surround the crowd, slowly working their way inwards.

Objectively, she knows her heart should be pounding in her chest; her breaths should be coming rapid and shallow. Her chest should be fit to burst from terror and panic at the bloodshed before her, she should be shaking and trembling, unable to think or function.

And yet, her heart-rate is steady. Her breaths come at their normal pace, her hands aren’t shaking, her mind is functioning smoothly, and the only things filling her chest are savage joy at finally getting her revenge and the intoxicating, dizzying sensation of something primal and predatory beckoning her enticingly to join the bloodshed.

_You can hunt, Gahyeon, _it purrs. _This prey belongs to you._

But Gahyeon holds herself back and watches, almost mesmerized, as Handong flays into a downed courtier with her claws, hot blood spraying from the wounds onto Handong’s face, suit, and bared fangs. She leaps gracefully from the limp, blood-soaked body of the courtier onto the back of another.

He desperately fumbles for a weapon, any weapon to fight her off, but Handong casually reaches around his neck and slices his throat open with her claws. Blood fountains into the air, soaking everyone in the near vicinity. As the courtier falls, Gahyeon watches Handong throw herself into the air towards her next target, savage glee gleaming in her glowing eyes.

The sound of an enormous _crack_ fills the room, rising even above the desperate screams, and Gahyeon’s focus whips to Yubin, whose arms are by her sides, palms open, fingers curled inwards, her lips pulled back and her fangs bared. A massive chunk of stone breaks off from the high, arched ceiling and crashes to the ground in front of her, crushing what has to be over a dozen courtiers beneath it. A deep pool of blood begins to seep out from underneath the concrete. Yubin’s lips curl in a predatory grin.

Yubin flips her palms to face down, braces herself, and a marble spire bursts from the floor underneath her feet, launching her into the air. As she reaches the apex of her flight, she contorts her body into a front flip, her cape whipping through the air behind her. She straightens out horizontally mid-air and soars into one of the armed guards, knocking him off his feet and tackling him to the ground. His rifle drops from his fingers as Yubin lands on top of him. She tears off the guard’s sleeve, sinking her fangs into his inner wrist. She drinks her fill, sating her thirst and recharging her powers.

As Yubin rises, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, an ear-splitting snarl pierces the air as Siyeon throws herself into a group of courtiers who have huddled together, cowering in fear. Siyeon tears through them all without hesitation, claws raking mercilessly through skin and muscle and bone. Blood pours from the wounds, soaking Siyeon’s fur and muzzle and dripping onto the floor. Her lips pull back in the approximation of a grin, her teeth and fangs stained red. Siyeon laughs, a short, staccato set of growls rumbling from her chest as the courtiers collapse to the ground, exsanguinated. She whirls around and leaps towards her next victim, eyes burning red.

The seductive call of siren draws Gahyeon’s attention to the other side of the room. Yoohyeon is levitating several feet off the above the floor, her lips curling in a devilish smirk. Bora is just a few feet away, hovering several inches in the air, her eyes burning wicked crimson and gleaming with fiendish delight.

They make a spell-binding sight, the two of them floating in an uneven line, siren spilling out of them in dizzying waves. They beckon the courtiers to approach them with curling forefingers and enticing smiles filled with dark promise. Mesmerized, the courtiers obey, gathering around the two floating vampires in a ring. When the crowd is sufficiently large enough, the two vampires strike.

Yoohyeon takes the right half, drifting lower and leaning forward, stroking the courtiers’ faces one by one as they shuffle towards her in a daze. She whispers in their ears, lips moving rapidly in inaudible commands. Gahyeon can’t hear Yoohyeon over the cacophony of sound in the ballroom, but the courtiers obey, turning away from her, and sprinting headfirst into the raging flames hungrily consuming the walls of the ballroom.

Simultaneously, Bora throws her arms out to the sides and tilts her head back, face upturned to the ceiling. A moment later, Bora’s gaze whips down to the courtiers staring up at her in wonder, eyes glowing brighter than Gahyeon’s ever seen, and slips so far into siren that Gahyeon doesn’t even need to hear her to know what she’s compelling them to do.

“_Stop moving for me, won’t you?”_

The courtiers freeze in place, and Bora drops from the air. She lands smoothly, and her form blurs as she takes off in a burst of vampiric speed. This time, unlike in the forest, Gahyeon is able to follow Bora’s lightning-fast movements. Bora moves in an arc, running up to each courtier and sinking her fangs into their inner wrists or their carotid arteries and drinking greedily, before blurring to her next victim.

It takes maybe twenty seconds for Bora to make her way through her half of the courtiers, and Gahyeon’s eyes widen as they drop to the ground one at a time like dominoes, until Bora is standing in front of a crescent-shaped mound of bodies.

A burst of flame shooting past Gahyeon towards the throne has her instinctively ducking away from the searing heat, and snapping her gaze to the center of the ballroom.

Fire streaks from Minji’s palms, stoking the flames already ravaging the ballroom. Gone is the showmanship from her training session with Gahyeon, Minji is fucking _deadly_, like a whirlwind set ablaze. She’s careful with her aim, setting the court members on fire and leaving them to burn as she focuses on her next victim.

Howls of agony and terror fill the air. One particularly brave courtier tries to shoot Minji with a handgun, but she darts out of the line of fire and snatches his wrist with her burning hands. He screams and tries to flee, but Minji grabs his throat and channels her fire into her hand. The courtier’s flesh sizzles and he roars in agony until his voice fades away to raspy wheezing – Minji’s burned through his vocal cords.

Minji releases him, a predatory grin on her lips, her white teeth glinting with orange-red light from the flames dancing around her.

Gahyeon watches the courtier stumble away, staggering past the dais, before collapsing to the ground, dead.

As the last of the courtiers are killed, and the sounds of the battle begin to die down, a glint of gold catches Gahyeon’s eye on the dais – the crown. In a burst of inspiration, she grabs it from its resting place next to the king’s body.

“Minji!” Gahyeon shouts.

Minji turns to face her, licks of flame flickering between her fingers. Gahyeon throws her the crown, and Minji catches it easily. The crown melts in her hands, the gold dripping from her cupped palms to solidify on the floor, and the last remaining weight pressing on Gahyeon’s chest disappears.

Savage relief lights her up inside, and she falls to her knees, a sob catching in the back of her throat. The ground rumbles beneath her feet, like the earth itself is lauding her revenge. Gahyeon covers her face with her hands, shoulders shaking.

The sound of loud shouts and banging echoes through the burning ballroom, filling the smoke-saturated air.

“Shit!” Gahyeon hears dimly. “The guards are coming!”

The locked ballroom doors begin to rattle, like someone is throwing themselves against them in an attempt to burst them open.

Someone pulls Gahyeon to her feet, and she opens her eyes, blinking back tears. It’s Minji, her eyes have stopped glowing, and her hands are no longer burning. Her grip is gentle and grounding, and Gahyeon inhales shakily, shivering.

“Gahyeon, we have to go, the guards are almost here.”

Gahyeon nods, letting Minji guide her through the ruined ballroom and around the piles of bodies. The others are standing by the enormous windows at the back of the ballroom, dripping with sweat and soaked in blood. Their masks lie scattered at their feet. Minji pulls hers off and tosses it to join them.

Handong’s fangs, ears, and claws have returned to their normal state. Siyeon is still a wolf, though; she butts her head into Bora’s side, and Bora laughs, scratching behind Siyeon’s ears.

They all smile at her as she approaches, and quickly take turns patting her on the back and gently ruffling her hair. Affection blooms in Gahyeon’s chest, and more tears fill her eyes.

“Yubin?” Minji gestures at the closest window.

Yubin grins tiredly and throws her arm forward, sending debris crashing through the stained glass. It shatters to pieces, glass raining down in front of them.

The seven vampires climb onto the sill, carefully avoiding the broken shards, and jump off, landing outside in the gardens behind the palace. Gahyeon stumbles slightly as she lands on the grass, but Yubin is there to steady her with strong hands and a gentle smile. Gahyeon leans into her gratefully, regaining her footing.

Minji exits last, and then leans back through the window, and sends more white-hot fire streaking into the ballroom, to ensure its spread throughout the palace. She ducks back out, breathing hard.

“Gahyeon, where does the path through the forest start?” Mini asks.

Gahyeon points to the right, further into the gardens. “We’re not on the garden path right now, but it’s over there. It leads straight into the forest.”

“Okay,” Minji says. “Let’s get going, Jinsol is waiting.”

Gahyeon takes off in a jog towards the path, and the members follow her lead. Siyeon keeps pace next to her, her silent presence comforting, as the understanding and implications of what they’ve wrought begin to dawn on Gahyeon.

_I’m finally free._

Relief like she’s never known in her life floods her veins and expands in her chest until she can barely breathe, and she laughs, overjoyed, as she runs.

It only takes a minute for them to reach the garden path, and Gahyeon turns left, to where she knows the gate leading to the forest awaits.

They pass rows and rows of beautiful flowers, sculpted bushes, and marble fountains, before making one last turn. The gate is tall, wrought from iron and gilded with gold. It hangs slightly ajar, like whoever was guarding it on the other side had abandoned their post to enter the palace and had forgotten to lock it.

Gahyeon wraps her hand around cold metal and opens the gate. The members file through to the other side quickly and stop to wait for her.

Gahyeon turns to take one last look at the palace, at the place that has been home to every trauma she’s ever experienced, where she’d never been afforded a moment’s peace or any sort of lasting happiness.

The palace of Starsight is ablaze. Flames lick at the walls, at the windows, spreading hungrily to every flammable surface. The walls are beginning to crumble, and as Gahyeon watches, the roof caves in with a deafening crash. A mushroom cloud of smoke blooms from the jagged hole.

_It’s done._

Gahyeon inhales shakily. With a sense of finality, Gahyeon turns her back to her past, to the burning palace, and faces her members, her future and her new family. They’re waiting for her patiently, smiling soft and encouraging as they watch her.

“Let’s go,” Gahyeon says.

As the sound of firetruck sirens pierces the air, Gahyeon leads her clan into the forest. The path is smooth and well-worn and, even at midnight, very easy to follow.

It only takes a few minutes before they begin to see lights glowing through the thinning line of trees, and a couple more to arrive at the edge of the forest.

They jog to where the path meets the road that leads back into Polaris to see an enormous black van parked just off to the side.

The tinted window rolls down to reveal Jinsol, wearing her signature black and red flannel and black pierced snapback. She waves them over frantically.

“Get in! The police are on their way!” Jinsol flicks a switch on the dashboard, and the side door opens automatically.

Eyes wide, they run up to the open door and quickly pile inside. There are three rows of two seats behind Jinsol, so Minji opens the passenger door and climbs in. Handong and Yubin climb into the back of the van first and sit in the seats closest to the back. Yoohyeon follows suit, buckling herself into further seat in the middle row.

Yoohyeon looks back, smiling at Gahyeon. “Come sit with me.”

Gahyeon smiles back and climbs into the van, sitting down next to Yoohyeon. She buckles herself in, and looks back at Bora and Siyeon, who are still outside.

“Just a sec, guys,” Bora says. She steps up to the door, blocking a good portion of the opening and turns around, facing Siyeon.

Bora hurriedly takes off her suit jacket, and Siyeon shifts back to her regular form, staggering with exhaustion. Gahyeon’s cheeks turn pink as she realizes that Siyeon’s clothes haven’t returned with her transformation.

_That’s why Bora’s blocking the door._

Bora quickly helps Siyeon put on the jacket, wrapping it around her and doing up the buttons to cover herself up as much as she can. Bora helps Siyeon into the van, before climbing in herself and sitting next to her. Siyeon presses herself against the opposite door, shivering.

“Bora,” she breathes, a hint of urgency in her voice.

Bora buckles them both in, and wraps her arms around Siyeon’s waist.

“I know, baby, it’s okay. I’ve got you.”

Siyeon adjusts her position, leaning into Bora’s touch. As Jinsol closes the door and begins driving, Bora strokes Siyeon’s hair, gently brushing loose strands off her face. She tucks the strands behind Siyeon’s ears with smooth, steady motions, murmuring quiet praise in her ear.

Siyeon relaxes slowly, sinking further into Bora’s gentle embrace.

Gahyeon’s heart expands with affection for the two of them. It must be wonderful to have a relationship that intimate with someone, she thinks.

Next to her, Yoohyeon yawns deeply, settling against the side of the van, and closes her eyes. Gahyeon chuckles quietly at the sight.

Now that the adrenaline is wearing off, exhaustion is beginning to hit Gahyeon too. The steady, quiet hum of the van, and Jinsol and Minji’s soft voices entice her eyelids to flutter and droop.

“You can lean on me,” Yoohyeon offers sleepily. She holds her arm out for Gahyeon.

Surprised, Gahyeon accepts, leaning into Yoohyeon’s side. Yoohyeon hugs her close, and warmth blossoms in Gahyeon’s chest at Yoohyeon’s casual affection. With Yoohyeon’s arm wrapped around her, Gahyeon finally allows herself to doze off.

It takes around half an hour to arrive back at the bar, but Gahyeon swears it had only felt like a few seconds. Jinsol parks behind the Dreamcatcher van, and presses the button for the doors to open.

Cool air rushes into the interior, and Gahyeon shivers, opening her eyes to see Minji leaning in.

“I know you guys are tired, but we only have an hour and a half before our flight leaves, we have to move fast. Let’s get inside, shower, change, and you can sleep on our way to the airport.” She jumps back down to the ground, and heads up the back stairs to the apartment.

Bora and Siyeon get out first. Bora does her best to protect Siyeon’s modesty as Siyeon hops onto the ground, and the two of them follow Minji up the stairs.

Gahyeon unbuckles her seatbelt and slides out of her seat. She jumps out onto the ground, and waits for Yoohyeon, so they can go up together. They climb up the stairs, followed by Handong and Yubin, and enter the apartment.

Even though she’s seen the transformation herself, the empty barrenness of the apartment hits Gahyeon all over again. She can’t help but feel melancholy, even though she’s only lived here for a week. The apartment had been so lively, filled with colour, presence, happiness, and history. Now it’s simply bare and gray, devoid of life and spirit.

Gahyeon sighs, heading into Yubin and Handong’s room to grab her backpack. She returns to the den to see the rest of her clan members and Jinsol standing around the couch.

“Here’s how this is gonna go,” Minji begins. “While we take turns showering and changing, Jinsol is gonna bring our stuff to the van. On our way out, we’ll throw our bloody clothes in the dumpster in the back. I’ll burn it, and then we’ll head to the airport. Please try to shower quickly, guys, we don’t have a lot of time.”

Everyone assents, and the circle breaks.

“Is there a specific order that we’re going to shower in?” Gahyeon asks Minji.

“Nah,” Minji shakes her head. “Bora and Siyeon have their own shower, and Yubin and Handong are the filthiest, so we should let them go first. We’ll just wait for our turn after them for the one in the shared bathroom.”

It’s true, Yubin and Handong’s faces are smeared with dried blood, and their suits are absolutely saturated in it.

Gahyeon shrugs. “Sounds fair.”

Minji chuckles. “Come on, let’s get going.”

They head towards the shared bathroom. Yoohyeon is already waiting outside the closed door, a pile of clothes in her hands. Her suit jacket is open, the top buttons of her dress shirt are undone, and she’s leaning against the wall next to the bathroom door.

Yoohyeon smiles tiredly at them as they approach.

“Here, Minji, I brought yours with me.” Yoohyeon hands Minji the top half of the pile.

Minji smiles back and leans in to press a soft kiss to Yoohyeon’s lips. “Thanks, cutie.”

Something passes between them, then, a look that Gahyeon doesn’t think she was meant to see. Vulnerability and exhaustion flashes in Minji’s eyes for an instant, and Yoohyeon’s breath catches in her throat, eyebrows furrowing in concern. She takes a half-step forward, but Minji shakes her head slightly.

“Later,” she breathes, barely audible.

Gahyeon frowns, worried, but Minji blinks, and her eyes clear, and Gahyeon knows she definitely hadn’t been meant to witness such vulnerability from Minji, so she averts her gaze, deciding to pretend that she hadn’t noticed anything amiss.

The three vampires wait patiently in comfortable silence, ruminating over the day’s events. Yoohyeon links her and Minji’s fingers, stroking absentmindedly at the skin of Minji’s inner wrist with her thumb.

Curiosity strikes Gahyeon, then, about something she can’t explain.

“Hey, Minji?”

Minji tilts her head. “Yeah?”

“When we were at the masquerade, there was this – I’m not quite sure how to explain it, but there was this voice in my head telling me to hunt, that the prey in the room was mine.” Gahyeon hesitates, she knows it sounds crazy. “What was it?”

Minji exchanges a look with Yoohyeon, and then looks back at Gahyeon.

“That was the Beast Within,” Minji says. “It’s essentially the personification of your most primal, base vampiric instincts,” she explains. “It usually makes itself known when danger is near, or if you haven’t fed enough recently. It tempts you to let go of your morality and follow your instincts, to do whatever you have to do to survive. I think we all got a hit from it tonight.”

_The Beast Within._ The name is fitting, Gahyeon thinks.

Oddly, a blush blooms high on Yoohyeon’s cheekbones and across the bridge of her nose.

Suddenly, Minji’s eyes widen. “I have to tell you something important,” she says urgently. “I should’ve done it earlier, but in all the chaos of our preparations to leave, I completely forgot.”

“What is it?” Gahyeon asks.

Minji hesitates.

“You went through a lot today,” Minji begins. “You used your powers in combat for the first time, had your first interaction with the Beast. You’ve drained your physical and emotional reservoirs, and because of the expenditure of all that energy that your body isn’t used to using up, you’re going to experience a sort of…drop in response in the next hour or so. It manifests in everyone differently, but the usual symptoms are exhaustion and feelings of intense vulnerability, need for care and affection, stuff like that,” she explains.

“It’s going to be hitting us all pretty hard,” Yoohyeon adds. “We’re all going to be feeling it, so we need to rely on each other and take care of each other to recover.”

“Is that why Siyeon got so tired and stressed out in the van?” Gahyeon asks.

“Siyeon is a bit of a special case,” Minji confirms. “Where we drop after an hour or two after something like this, she tends to drop almost right away, most likely because of her PTSD.”

Gahyeon’s eyes widen, and her heart twinges with sympathy.

“It’s nothing she hasn’t been through before,” Yoohyeon reassures. “We’ve all experienced it more than once. Siyeon knows what she needs, and Bora will take care of her.”

“But then who will take care of Bora?”

“Siyeon will,” Minji answers. “When you give of yourself to someone else, even when you’re exhausted, you tend to find yourself forgetting about how tired you are. We lean on each other; the recovery is a give-and-take that way, and we respond better to it like that.” She pauses, a smile tugging at her lips. “Can I make a suggestion?”

Gahyeon nods. ‘Of course!”

“Let Handong and Yubin take care of you on the plane,” Minji’s smile grows. “They’re both very intuitive, and I have a feeling they have an extra soft spot for you.”

Gahyeon doesn’t know what about Minji’s words makes her blush, but her cheeks and tips of her ears burn.

Minji’s right; the two vampires _are_ intuitive. They’d taken such good care of her during training, and had been so patient and kind and affectionate. Warmth flutters in Gahyeon’s stomach as she recalls how well she’d slept the best she’s ever had cuddled between the two of them.

“Okay,” Gahyeon says shyly.

Minji reaches out and ruffles the hair on top of Gahyeon’s head. “Good.”

Before they can say anything else, the bathroom door opens. Yubin steps out, her short hair wavy and damp and sticking up cutely. She’s wearing black skinny jeans and an oversized sweater, and she looks adorable.

Gahyeon smiles at her almost involuntarily, and Yubin gives her a lazy wink as she passes by, heading for her and Handong’s room.

“You can go ahead,” Minji says gently, nodding towards the bathroom. “I have to talk to Yoohyeon.”

“Okay,” Gahyeon says.

She walks into the bathroom and shuts the door behind her. She turns the lock, places her backpack on the counter next to the sink and surveys her reflection in the mirror.

In comparison to the rest of her clan, Gahyeon is spotlessly clean. There isn’t any blood smeared on her lips and chin, or drying in her hair, or even staining her rose pink suit.

_I got off easy_, she thinks. _Everyone else is _saturated_._

The others had fought so much more, had expended much more power and energy than Gahyeon. They’re going to be dropping much more intensely than she will, and Gahyeon can’t help but feel guilty, like she hadn’t done enough, like she hadn’t pulled her weight.

Her chest tightens with it, her breath hitching, and tears burn at the back of her eyes.

Gahyeon takes a deep breath and pushes the thoughts away.

_Those are thoughts the king would have driven into me if he was still alive. I’m not going to return to those patterns, not after everything._

Gahyeon blinks back her tears and meets her gaze in the mirror.

_I’m barely trained. I killed my fath – my abuser. I wasn’t afraid. I did it, I got my revenge. And the others are proud of me, I know it. This is a new beginning, and I’m not going to take the first step feeling guilty for something I shouldn’t be guilty about._

Resolute and ready, Gahyeon strips off her suit and pants, takes off her bra and underwear, and steps into the shower.

She showers quickly, not wanting to leave Minji and Yoohyeon waiting too long.

As Gahyeon towels off, the warmth from the water and the towel seeps into her bones, and a wave of exhaustion hits her. She stumbles a little as she steps to the sink, and fear begins to rise at the back of her throat.

_Fuck, am I dropping? What do I do?_

Gahyeon meets her gaze in the mirror again.

_Minji and Yoohyeon said to let myself be taken care of. I guess that’s just it? But I can’t do that in here._

Gahyeon drops her towel in the hamper next to the shower and starts getting dressed. She’d picked out the clothes that Handong and Yubin had given her when she first arrived, and the familiar comfort of both the clothes, and their lingering, mingled scents, eases the tension in her chest.

Picking up her ruined suit and her bag, Gahyeon takes one last look in the mirror.

_Not a princess anymore,_ she reminds herself. _Just me._

Gahyeon unlocks the bathroom door and steps into the hallway. As Minji and Yoohyeon look up to greet her, the exhaustion crashes over her again, and her knees buckle.

In an instant, Minji and Yoohyeon are at her side, holding her up.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Minji’s voice is low and soothing. “This is normal for a drop. We’ll get you into the van so you can rest while you wait for the rest of us, okay?”

Gahyeon’s eyes flutter, and with some effort, she nods. “Okay.”

“Hey, Jinsol?” Minji calls.

Jinsol practically materializes in front of them, and through Gahyeon’s haze, she wonders dimly if all water elementalists can move that quickly.

“What’s – oh, shit,” Jinsol looks Gahyeon up and down, her eyebrows tilting up in concern.

“Were you able to get everything in the trunk okay?” Minji asks.

Jinsol nods. “Yeah, everything fit.”

“Okay, perfect. Would you be able to take Gahyeon to the van for me?”

“Of course!” Jinsol takes Gahyeon’s backpack and slings it over her shoulder, and tucks Gahyeon’s suit under her left arm.

Jinsol carefully replaces Minji’s arm around Gahyeon with hers.

“You can lean on me,” she encourages, and Gahyeon does.

“Thank you so much, Jinsol,” Minji says gratefully. “Yoohyeon and I will be down in ten minutes.”

Jinsol smiles widely. “No worries, Minji.” She carefully turns her and Gahyeon around and starts leading them through the hallway.

“Tonight really did a number on you, huh?” Jinsol’s voice is quiet and husky.

Gahyeon nods. “It was a lot, yeah.”

Jinsol hums in response. She doesn’t push the subject, and Gahyeon is grateful. Jinsol just leads her out the door and down the steps to the parking lot, her touch gentle and steadying.

“Almost there,” Jinsol murmurs.

The door to the van is already open, and as they approach, Gahyeon sees Bora and Siyeon leaning against each other in the first row, fast asleep. Siyeon’s face is tucked into the crook of Bora’s neck, their fingers intertwined, and as tired as she is, Gahyeon can’t help but smile at the sight of them.

Jinsol helps Gahyeon into the van and sit down in the seat Yoohyeon had been occupying earlier. Jinsol reaches around Gahyeon to do up her seatbelt for her, and then places Gahyeon’s backpack by her feet.

“Thanks, Jinsol,” Gahyeon says.

Jinsol smiles softly. “You’re welcome. Rest for now, we’ll be on our way to the airport soon.”

Gahyeon nods sleepily. “Okay.”

Eyes half-closed, Gahyeon watches Jinsol head over to the dumpster by the back entrance to the bar and throw her suit inside. She walks back to the van, closes the trunk quietly, and climbs back into the driver’s seat.

Gahyeon tries to doze off, she really does, but as tired as she is, her mind refuses to quiet. The excitement for her new beginning and trepidation for the unknowns rapidly approaching on the horizon, run her mind in circles.

Resigned to staying awake, Gahyeon settles further into her seat. It’s only a minute or so later that Handong and Yubin come down the stairs, toss their bloody suits into the dumpster, and climb into the backseat.

“Hey, Gahyeon,” Yubin says, voice husky and quiet. “How’re you holding up?”

Gahyeon twists to face her, and her breath catches in her throat. Yubin and Handong are both adorably sleepy, their cheeks pink and little smiles soft.

“Tired, but okay,” Gahyeon says. “And you guys?”

Handong laughs. “About the same.”

“We’ll be on our way soon,” Yubin says. “Then we can rest.” She snuggles further into Handong.

A deep ache opens up in Gahyeon’s chest, then, unlike anything she’s never felt before, a yearning to hold and comfort, to be touched and comforted in return, and it steals her breath away with its intensity.

Gahyeon recalls Minji’s words, that this is part of the drop, and her recommendation that she allow Yubin and Handong to take care of her. Her cheeks flush and butterflies flutter in her stomach as she wracks her brain for a way to broach the subject without being awkward. And then, of course, there’s the fear of intruding on their casual intimacy; the way Handong presses a soft kiss to Yubin’s temple, the way Yubin plays with the ends of Handong’s hair.

Before Gahyeon can come up with a solution, Minji and Yoohyeon come down, stepping up to the dumpster and tossing their suits inside. Minji flicks her fingers, and a single spark bursts to life in front of her hand, drifting down into the dumpster.

Barely a moment passes, before flames roar to life, licking at the sides of the metal. Yoohyeon squeezes Minji’s hand, and the two of them walk up to the van. Minji climbs back in the passenger’s seat next to Jinsol, and Yoohyeon joins Gahyeon in the middle row.

“Are you guys all ready to go?” Jinsol asks, looking back at them through the rearview mirror.

The members chorus their assent. Jinsol closes the door to the van and backs out of the little parking lot. Gahyeon can’t help but feel sad as she takes one last look at the little bar and mentally bids it farewell.

Her life had been changed in that apartment, and she can’t even imagine how the others, who’ve lived there for so much longer, are feeling right now.

Gahyeon has never been good at displaying affection, but when she sees the melancholic look in Yoohyeon’s eyes as they drive away, she rests her head on her shoulder, and hopes the gesture conveys everything she wants to say.

Yoohyeon takes a shuddering breath, the corners of her mouth tilting down, and rests her head on top of Gahyeon’s.

The drive to the airport passes in a blur. It feels like only a few moments have passed before they arrive. Jinsol parks the van in the long-term lot, and the eight vampires exit the van, yawning and stretching. Jinsol pops the trunk and starts unloading the suitcases.

Gahyeon quickly steps up to help; as exhausted as she is, the others are even more so, and she wants to do what she can.

“Thanks, Gahyeon,” Jinsol says as the two of them finish. She closes the trunk and locks the car.

“No problem,” Gahyeon smiles.

She doesn’t have a suitcase to worry about, just her backpack, which makes her check-in process easier when they get into the airport.

The others take their turns checking in and putting their suitcases on the conveyor belt, and then they get in line for security. Because it’s the middle of the night, the airport isn’t very busy, and the line passes quickly. It’s only a few minutes before the eight vampires are stepping up to their gate.

Boarding is just about to end, so there’s nobody waiting in line. They all scan their tickets and passports, – Bora slips into siren for a moment to get the attendant sleepy enough that she doesn’t think to ask Gahyeon for her passport – and they board the plane, with Gahyeon last in line.

CLC has foot the bill for the tickets, so they’re flying business class instead of economy. The eight of them are seated in the three rows behind the bulkhead. Minji, Yoohyeon and Jinsol take the three seats in the furthest row back, Bora and Siyeon take up the second row, and as Gahyeon steps past first class, she sees Yubin and Handong sitting in the closest row, Yubin by the window and Handong by the aisle.

There’s an empty seat between them, and Gahyeon frowns, confused.

_Why aren’t they sitting next to each other?_

Handong looks up at Gahyeon, smiling.

“Come sit with us.”

Gahyeon blinks in surprise. Minji meets her eyes, smiling encouragingly. She had told her to let the two of them take care of her. Gahyeon had assumed she’d have to say something or ask, but it looks like Yubin and Handong had gotten the memo on their own.

Gahyeon flushes, smiling, and shuffles past Handong to sit between her and Yubin. She tucks her backpack under the seat by her feet and does up her seatbelt.

Moments later, the captains voice comes over the intercom, announcing their departure. The plane begins to taxi, and the lights in the cabin flicker off.

As the plane moves smoothly onto the runway and takes off, Gahyeon falls asleep curled up against Yubin, with Handong’s head on her shoulder, and for the first time since she can remember, her dreams are free of nightmares.

**~ * ~ * ~ * ~**

Dawn is breaking as the eight vampires exit the Incheon airport, bags and suitcases in tow. As they step into the early dawn light, a voice calls Minji’s name.

“Kim Minji!”

A tall man in a suit is standing by a limo, holding up a placard with Minji’s name on it. Minji waves, and walks over to him. Gahyeon follows with the others.

“Can I see your tattoo for identity verification?” He asks.

Minji rolls up her sleeve, showing him Dreamcatcher’s symbol tattooed on her inner wrist.

“Can I see yours?”

The man is wearing gloves, but he peels the right glove back just enough to reveal a symbol on the back of his hand. Gahyeon doesn’t recognize it, but Minji does, nodding.

“Okay,” she says. “Where to?”

“I’ve been asked to take you to CLC’s headquarters,” he answers. “You have a meeting with Seungyeon in forty-five minutes.”

Minji’s eyes widen. “We’d better get going, then.”

The driver nods. “Let me help you with your bags.” He picks up Minji’s suitcase and carries it to the trunk. He presses a button above the license plate, and the trunk unlatches, rising upward smoothly. He loads Minji’s suitcase in and gestures for everyone else to pass him theirs.

Moments later, everything is packed away, and the driver opens the door to the limo for them. They all quickly climb inside and sit down. Gahyeon’s jaw drops; an enormous leather sofa takes up the majority of the free space. Fairy lights sparkle above the tinted windows, and a mini-fridge sits at the edge of the sofa.

Jinsol is last to enter, and she closes the door behind them and sits down next to the mini-fridge.

“Feel free to have a drink,” the driver calls as he gets behind the wheel.

The limo comes to life with a quiet purr, and the driver pulls them out of the pick-up zone and heads towards the highway into Seoul.

Out of curiosity, Jinsol opens up the mini-fridge, revealing several dozen frosted glass bottles. She reaches in and pulls one out, examining the label.

“This is blood!” She exclaims, surprised. “The label lists the type, and even the resonance.”

Everyone perks up at that. In their rush to leave the apartment, none of them had gotten a chance to feed from the bottles in the fridge.

“Can you pass some down?” Siyeon asks. “We didn’t get a chance to recharge, not all of us were able to feed during the chaos at the palace.”

“Yeah, for sure.” Jinsol passes the bottles down until everyone is holding one.

Gahyeon examines at the label on her bottle.

**Type: O-**

**Resonance: Wistful**

“What does resonance mean?” Gahyeon asks, confused.

“If someone is feeling a particular emotion very strongly, it can change the flavour of their blood,” Yubin explains. “Different types of emotions affect the taste of the blood in different ways.”

Siyeon flinches in her seat and clenches her jaw. Gahyeon remembers the very reason why Siyeon had been tortured after her and Bora’s capture by Vixx was to enhance the taste of their blood. Gahyeon winces, kicking herself for having brought it up.

Siyeon blinks rapidly for a moment, before turning to Gahyeon and offering her a reassuring smile. Gahyeon smiles back.

_Sorry,_ she mouths.

Siyeon waves her off. _It’s not your fault_, _it is what it is, _she mouths back.

After an initial moment of awkwardness, Siyeon opens her bottle and drinks, closing her eyes in relief.

Gahyeon watches everyone do the same, and follows suit, carefully opening her bottle and putting it to her lips. She isn’t quite sure what to expect, she’s only fed once since she was turned, and the blood hadn’t been anything to write home about.

This time, when the blood hits her tongue, her eyes widen, and she nearly moans out loud. It’s electric, almost, how quickly her exhaustion fades as she swallows.

Where the blood she’d drank at the apartment had tasted like iron and copper, this blood tastes like liquid longing and a long-suppressed, melancholic ache, as if someone had opened the floodgates to every unfulfilled desire that Gahyeon’s ever had. It isn’t overwhelming, but the effect takes Gahyeon’s breath away.

_Wow._

Gahyeon finishes her bottle and sits in a daze, fascinated by the effect the resonance is having on her.

By the time their driver pulls up in front of a tall, high-rise building, the effect has worn off, and Gahyeon’s emotions are her own again.

The driver ducks out of the limo and heads around to the door, opening it wide for them to get out.

“I’ll have your things brought upstairs to the apartment you’ll be staying in tonight,” he says as the eight vampires climb out. “Someone will meet you by Reception and take you to your meeting.”

“Thank you,” Minji says.

Their driver nods and gives them a quick wave.

Turning away from the street, Gahyeon looks up at the enormous building, craning her neck to be able to see the top floor.

It’s incredible, she thinks. Polaris hadn’t had building anywhere _near_ this huge, and despite her nerves, Gahyeon can’t help but be filled with childlike enthusiasm at the thought of getting to go inside a building this big.

“God, we haven’t been here in so long,” Siyeon whispers. Despite the blood she’d drank in the limo, Siyeon looks pale and afraid, her shoulders tight with tension.

Bora slowly, carefully wraps her arm around Siyeon’s, squeezing her hand. “Breathe, baby,” Bora murmurs.

Siyeon inhales shakily, and her shoulders relax slightly. She shakes out her free hand. “Let’s do this.”

Minji walks up to the glass door and holds it open for everyone to enter. Gahyeon’s jaw drops as she steps inside and takes a look around.

The lobby is stunning; it’s well-lit, with marble walls and floors and a high ceiling. It’s also a little busy, the lobby is bustling with all kinds of people.

A large reception desk sits between two hallways that look like they lead to elevators. Gahyeon follows Minji as she heads towards it, but Minji doesn’t even get a chance to speak, before her name is being called.

“Minji!”

Rushing towards them is a woman a couple inches taller than Gahyeon.

Minji looks over, and her eyes widen in surprise.

“Seungyeon!” Minji smiles widely, throwing her arms around the woman.

Seungyeon hugs her back, grinning, and then greets Bora, Siyeon, Yubin, Handong, Yoohyeon, and Jinsol with equally big hugs.

“And you must be Gahyeon,” Seungyeon says, her husky voice warm and welcoming. “It’s wonderful to meet you.”

To Gahyeon’s surprise, Seungyeon embraces her too, and Gahyeon hugs her back. Now that she’s up close, Gahyeon can see how wild and harried her eyes are, as well as the dark bruises under them.

_What’s going on?_

Seungyeon turns to Jinsol. “If you go back outside, the driver that brought you here will take you to your apartment. Your suitcase is still there.”

Jinsol nods. “Okay, perfect, thank you.”

“I’m sorry you can’t stay for this,” Seungyeon says. “Unfortunately, this whole situation is as need-to-know as it gets.”

Jinsol waves off the apology. “It’s okay,” she smiles softly. “I get to go home and finally see Jungeun; there’s nothing I want more.”

Seungyeon smiles. “Okay. I’ll call you later to set up your debrief with Chaeyoung.”

“Sounds good!”

Seungyeon hugs her again. “Tell Jungeun I say hi.”

“I will!”

Jinsol gives everyone a quick hug. When she reaches Gahyeon, she ruffles her hair and says, “Take care of yourself, okay?”

“I will, I promise.”

“Good.”

With a final wave and a wide smile, Jinsol jogs out of the building.

Seungyeon takes a deep breath, surveying the seven vampires in front of her. “I wish we had time to catch up properly,” Seungyeon frowns. “Unfortunately, we’re really short on time.”

“What’s happening?” Minji asks.

“Come upstairs with me,” Seungyeon says. “We’ll explain everything in the board-room.”

“Okay.”

Seungyeon leads them to the elevators at a brisk pace. As they approach, one of the elevators lets out a chime, and the door slides open.

“Let’s go.”

Once everyone is inside the elevator, Seungyeon presses the button for the top floor in the building. The door closes, and the elevator rises swiftly to their destination.

Gahyeon’s nerves return full-force, her heart is beating quickly, and her stomach flutters madly.

It takes a minute or two, but the elevator slows to a halt and the door reopens. Seungyeon exits first, striding quickly past the lobby in front of them, and down a hallway filled with doors leading to offices and board-rooms.

She pauses in front of one of the doors and knocks. After a moment, she opens the door and enters, holding it open for them. The members file in one by one, and Seungyeon closes the door behind them.

“Have a seat anywhere at the table,” Seungyeon says. She pulls out her phone and taps away, her brow furrowing in concentration.

The table in question is long and round, surrounded by over a dozen enormous leather chairs. Bora shrugs and takes a seat opposite the door. Siyeon takes the seat to her left, Minji and Yoohyeon sit on Bora’s right. Gahyeon takes the chair next to Yoohyeon, and Yubin and Handong sit on Gahyeon’s other side.

As Gahyeon’s nervousness grows, she takes a look at her members to see if they’re faring any better than her. Siyeon still looks tense and afraid, she’s nervously playing with Bora’s hand, gently pinching the skin between her thumb and forefinger. Bora is focused on comforting Siyeon, but she looks a little nervous too.

Minji has settled into business mode, her back is straight and her breaths are steady, her hands folded on the table in front of her. Yoohyeon is a little less composed, but she seems otherwise okay. Yubin looks relaxed, but Handong is much less so. She’s nervously bouncing her foot on the floor and playing with her fingers. Yubin tucks a lock of hair behind Handong’s ear, and Handong’s nervous movements slow.

Gahyeon can’t help but feel comforted knowing that she isn’t the only one nervous about this; they’ve just given up their lives in Starsight, their anonymity, and they don’t even know what for.

Gahyeon’s ruminating is interrupted by the door opening once more. A short woman with pastel pink hair steps in, her strides purposeful and her face affixed in a worried frown.

“_Jihyo?_” Minji’s jaw drops.

_Who’s Jihyo?_

“Hey, Minji,” Jihyo says. She sits in the chair opposite Minji, gesturing for Seungyeon to sit next to her. Seungyeon obeys, swallowing hard.

Jihyo rubs her face with her hands. “Thank you for coming so quickly,” she says.

“What’s going on?” Minji asks.

“Since there are two of you here that I haven’t met yet, I’ll start by introducing myself. My name is Park Jihyo, and I’m the prime leader of Twice, the clan in charge of policing vampires and maintaining the Masquerade.”

_Holy shit._ Gahyeon’s eyebrows shoot up in shock.

“You’ve already met Seungyeon, she’s prime leader of CLC, one of Twice’s right-hand clans.” Jihyo pauses. “Honestly, I wish we weren’t in such dire circumstances. I’d have much preferred to meet you all in a different environment.” Jihyo leans forward. “Unfortunately, we’re facing a catastrophe unlike anything the Masquerade has seen in at least two centuries.”

Minji shakes her head in disbelief. “What kind of catastrophe?”

“A coup,” Jihyo sighs heavily. “The leaders of one of the clans in America are plotting to overthrow Twice.”

_Jesus Christ_.

Dreamcatcher bursts into a chorus of shocked exclamations.

“Listen to me,” Jihyo continues, her voice steely. “This clan is one of the worst of the worst, and I’m sure you can understand why we absolutely cannot let this happen. They’ll kill anyone who stands in their way, and they have _no_ qualms about breaking the Masquerade if it’ll help them carry out their plan.”

“This is where you come in,” she continues. “I’ve authorized a team to fly to America, infiltrate the clan, and take out these leaders by any means necessary. Vampire life has to continue unimpeded; we can’t risk a change of power like this, and certainly not one that could spark a war between the clans. Do you understand?”

They nod, stunned into silence.

“Good. I chose your clan because of your anonymity within the Masquerade. You were founded with just five members, and then you virtually disappeared from vampire society when you escaped to Starsight. Almost nobody outside of the leaders of Twice and CLC know of your existence, and that’s exactly the kind of anonymity we need for this.”

“The rest of this clan is still power-hungry, but they aren’t as ambitious or willing to go to the lengths that the leaders are to harm both humans and vampires alike,” Jihyo finishes. “This is why we called you back. If we fail to prevent this, it could mean the end of the world.”

Fear explodes in Gahyeon’s chest. Adrenaline shoots through her limbs and filling her veins. Her hands shake as she contemplates the implications of the mission, of how much is at stake here. The others look similarly affected; none of them could have predicted they’d be called to carry out a mission with stakes this high.

“Fuck,” Minji inhales shakily. “When do we leave?”

Jihyo’s eyes soften sympathetically. “Tomorrow.”

“God, I –” Minji breaks off and takes a deep breath to compose herself. “Fuck, okay.” She turns to Seungyeon. “You said that we have some kind of personal stake in this mission. What did you mean? Aside from maintaining the Masquerade and avoiding a clan war, that is?”

“Oh, you do,” Seungyeon confirms, a determined edge in her voice.

“I don’t understand.” Minji’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. “Why do we have a personal stake in this?”

“Because,” Jihyo smiles wryly, cocking her head to the side. “You’re going after Vixx.”

_ To be continued. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic has changed a lot in the year that I've been writing it. It's hard to believe that it's been almost exactly a full year since I posted the first chapter. It's been a huge part of my life, and it kickstarted my foray into fic-writing. This fic was like a challenge for myself, to see if I could write a fully plotted story and actually finish it, and I'm so happy and relieved that I've accomplished my goal.
> 
> To everyone who's been reading and following Masquerade, whether you're a new reader or you've been following the story since the beginning, thank you so much for reading, and for taking this journey with me. I appreciate every hit, every kudos and comment and interaction more than I can possibly say.
> 
> This isn't the end for this story, though; the girls will be back in the sequel, so please don't be too sad that this chapter is ending! 
> 
> Thank you all so much again for supporting me. I'll be back soon with new stories and adventures! <3


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